Mary's Revenge Alternate
by myownmind
Summary: Alternate version of 'Mary's Revenge'. Please read first 18 chapters of that story first. Warning: this version will have continued sexual and physical abuse going on so be prepared. Aaron and Reid have another run in with Mary. Will they survive?
1. Chapter 1

_Warning: This version of Mary's Revenge will have sexual and physical violence. So please be prepared._

_Okay. This chapter is kind of slow but I promise it will get busier. I don't know that I will be able to update both stories in the same day but I will try. I will be trying to update them alternately. I hope you enjoy it!!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER ONE

With fascination, Rachel watched as the blossom of blood continued to spread over Mary's side. It appeared to be little more than a flesh wound. Then Mary was trying to swipe at her, to knock the gun out of her hands.

Startled, Rachel took a step backward to protect the gun. There was no way she was going to let Mary get hold of the damned thing again. Her heel came down on something hard and soft at the same time. Before Rachel had the chance to turn to see what it was, Doug reached around her and pulled the gun out of her hands. Then he hit her in the side of the head, as hard as he could manage.

Seeing the woman aim a gun at his sister and pull the trigger had pushed Doug over the deep end. He no longer had the semblance of civilization about him. Grinning, he watched as Rachel crumpled to the ground unconscious. He was enjoying hitting people in the head and playing with their unconscious bodies a little too much.

"Well, that went better than I'd hoped," Mary said as she lifted her shirt to see what kind of damage the woman had inflicted on her. The bullet had entered her shirt, skimmed along her side and continued out the back of her shirt. It looked remarkably like the wound Hotch now sported but not nearly as deep. It hurt but that was okay. The alternative of death made it feel not quite so bad.

"Let's get the hell out of here. Someone might have heard the shot," Doug stated as he playfully kicked Rachel in the side. He wanted to take her too but there wasn't going to be enough room in the SUV. Besides, two people to try to control without their current set up would be hard enough.

"Sounds good to me. Just let me get the medical kit and some of the supplies. I have the feeling we might need them," Mary stated. She glanced over at the two men crumpled on the steps leading to the storm doors. Well, it wasn't want she'd planned for but it could still be fun.

"I'll put them in the SUV. Just be quick. I don't want to get caught," Doug stated. He lumbered over to the two agents. Gleefully he picked up Hotch, being careful to put his arm between the man's legs and apply some pressure. He relished the low moan that his actions elicited. Now that he'd thrown aside the shackles of decency, he was going to really enjoy this. Shifting Hotch up over his shoulders, Doug made sure to catch hold of the arm attached to his injured side and pull on it.

Happily, he carried the moaning man up the stairs and outside toward the SUV. He knew that Hotchner was Mary's favourite. He wasn't going to get the chance to play with him very often but that was okay. He still had the kid.

Opening the back of the SUV, Doug tossed Aaron inside, oblivious to the new damage he might cause. Pulling the man's handcuffs out of his back pocket, Doug attached them to Aaron's wrists, making sure to cuff his arms in the back. That would leave free access to the joys of his front.

Returning to the basement, Doug glanced over at Mary before picking young Spencer up as well. He'd picked the kid up like a child, a hand behind his back and under his knees. Reid's head rested on Doug's shoulder. Looking down at the top of Spencer's head, Doug felt a new emotion emerging. He almost felt protective of the kid. He wanted to make sure he was protected from people. Well, people like him. Grinning ruefully, Doug carried the slight young man up the stairs. Yeah, like that was going to happen.

As gently as he could manage, Doug placed Reid in the back seat. Gleefully, he ran his hand over the side of the kid's face. Then down his throat all the way to his neck. He was his, all his. Mary had said he could have him when he'd agreed to help her escape from Rachel. For a few brief hours there he'd considered just letting the good guys swoop in and rescue everyone. This wasn't much fun anymore now that Doug was feeling the pain too. Rachel had really pounded on him.

Running his hand down Reid's thin but well muscled chest, Doug revelled in the heat and softness he found there. Still grinning, he pulled out the one pair of loose shackles from his pocket and placed them on Reid's wrists. Doug made sure that his hands were behind his back as well. Out of concern for the kid's safety, though, Doug secured the shackles to the vehicle with the seat belt. If they got in to an accident, he didn't want the kid flying around the compartment. Agent Hotchner was on his own.

Finished, Doug turned in time to see Mary climb out of the trap door, carrying two large back packs. The blood stain on her shirt was getting a little worse but she ignored it. Humming happily, Mary threw the two packs into the foot well of the back seat and then climbed into the passenger side. Doug pulled the keys out of his pocket, climbed into the driver's side and turning the engine over.

As casual as he could manage given his agitated state, Doug pulled the vehicle out of the outbuilding and guided it down the access road. With any luck at all, no one would find Rachel until after she'd starved to death or died of exposure. Neither option was a pleasant way to die but at this point Doug didn't care. She'd brought it on herself after all.

Doug pulled up at the end of the road. Glancing over at his sister he waited. Mary was busy trying to wrap the bullet wound in her side to realize they'd stopped moving.

"Which way?" Doug asked. He had no idea where Mary planned on going. Despite spending days out here setting up the basement, he still had no idea what was out here. He wasn't even sure that Mary did but this was her show.

"Um," Mary said as she looked in the two directions open to them. "Take a right. I think there's a town with a no tell hotel about two hours from here. Hopefully it'll be far enough away that if anyone is searching for us, they won't find us tonight."

Doug liked the sound of that. Pulling out onto the dirt road, he sped up. While he didn't want to draw attention to them, he also wanted to get there as fast as possible. Angling the rear view mirror, Doug gazed at Spencer in the seat behind him. Even unconscious, his mouth slightly open, the boy was gorgeous. He couldn't wait to spend some quality time with him, especially now that Rachel couldn't interfere.

OOOOO

It was their fifth and final homestead to search. Morgan was fighting the terrible weight of depression. This had been their only real hope of finding Hotch and Reid. If none of them found any sign of his fellow agents, he didn't know where to begin searching from here.

Pulling into the access road, the deputy drew Morgan's attention away from his inner musings to point out the tracks on the road in the tall weeds. Someone had entered here or left, recently. It was the only sign of habitation they'd come across so far. It wasn't much but it was enough to stave off the dark mist of depression. Following the trail led them to the furthest of the outbuildings. Putting the car in park, the deputies and Morgan stepped out.

Scanning the area around the buildings, Morgan found another set of tracks that led to a set of cellar doors before making their way to the outbuilding where they stood. Their guns drawn, the three men strode toward the building. It only took a moment to see that it was empty but they searched it thoroughly, panning their flashlights around.

"Whatever as parked in here was large, like an SUV," one of the deputies stated. He was examining the wheel base of the tracks. It was obvious from the depth of the imprints that the vehicle had sat here for more than a day. It appeared that the vehicle had left within the last couple of hours.

"It would have to be big to fit everyone," Morgan stated. Turning, he looked over his shoulder toward the dilapidated house. "Call Sheriff Hicks and Rossi, let them know we might have found something. You," Morgan pointed at the nearest deputy. "Come with me. We're going to search the house."

OOOOO

Deputy Cullen had been sent with another two deputies to search another set of five houses. So far none of them had seemed even vaguely familiar. He felt like shit for not knowing which house it had been. He kept trying to convince himself that he had a head injury and that it had been beyond his control. He'd found help but now he couldn't tell them where to go. Slumping a little further into the rear seat of the cruiser, Jack tried to not break down. Not here, in front of two of the men he worked with.

Looking idly out the driver's side window, Jack was only vaguely aware of a dark SUV going by them in the opposite direction. What he did notice was that there only appeared to be one person in it. Well, this was a sparsely populated area. Turning his head back to his side of the road, the passenger side, Jack tried to not dwell on how truly inadequate he felt at the moment.

OOOOO

Mary was slumped in the front seat, apparently asleep. Well, that suited Doug just fine. He wanted to spend his time thinking about what he was going to do to young Reid. The kid was still unconscious. He liked that. He was going to have to see if Mary still had some of those drugs.

They'd just left the plains area where the homestead had been. They'd moved into a more heavily wooded area. That suited Doug just fine too. If things got too dicey, they could slip into the trees and hide. What was the use of having an SUV if they didn't four-wheel it a bit?

OOOOO

The house had been occupied recently. That much Morgan and the deputy could tell from the marks in the thick dust on the floor.

"Nothing good has been happening here," Morgan stated as he scanned the floor where Rachel had been raped. He could tell that a fight had gone on and that someone had been hurt. The blood on the ground told him that much.

"Let's check the basement," the deputy suggested. "Jack said that your agents were being held in the basement."

Quietly, the two men made their way toward the stairs that led to the basement. Creeping down the stairs silently, Morgan paused half way down the steps and scanned the area with his gun and flashlight. The flashlight beam came to rest on a crumpled form along the far wall. From the long hair, he knew it wasn't Reid or Hotch. Cursing under his breath, Morgan made his way toward the figure.

His heart in his throat, Morgan recognized her immediately. It was Rachel. And she was barely alive.


	2. Chapter 2

_Thank you very much for the reviews!! I promise there will be more torture in the next chapter. I'm still setting it up. I hope you enjoy it anyway!!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWO

"I need a room with two double beds," Mary said. She was standing in the office of a rundown 'No tell Motel'. She'd chosen this one because it had individual cabins. There was one in the back, away from all the others. It would be perfect for what she had planned.

"Sure thing. Just fill out the registration card. How many people will there be and how long will you be staying?" the clerk asked as he slid the card toward her.

"Just my husband and I. We like to sleep in separate beds. Otherwise we spend all night fooling around," Mary stated, a huge grin on her face. She wasn't going to tell the man about the two agents. That would sound strange. Besides, she didn't want him to know the exact number of people, that way if the feds showed up they would be expecting four of them.

"I guess I can understand that," the clerk stated. Looking down at the card, he saw that she'd filled in a three day stay. "That'll be eighty three dollars."

Quickly counting out the money, Mary felt a thrill pass through her body. Now that she didn't have Rachel around, trying to make her feel guilty for every little thing she did, this was going to be so much more interesting. Taking the key from the clerk, Mary slipped out of the office and headed back to the SUV.

Climbing into the passenger side, she grinned at Doug. "Home, James," she said, dangling the key for him to see. Returning his sister's smile, Doug pulled the vehicle around to their secluded honeymoon suite. The cabin was behind the main building. The main building was a good 200 yards away. The nearest cabin was about 150 yards away. It was a miracle the place stayed open. It used its area so badly.

Doug put the SUV in park after baking it toward the cabin door. Hotch was going to be the hardest one to get inside unobserved, the kid weighed practically nothing and would be easy to move. Mary bounded out of the SUV and unlocked the door. Pushing it open, she moved out of the way. Doug had opened the back of the vehicle, caught hold of Hotch and dragged him toward the door.

"Damn he's heavy," Doug heaved as he pulled the man across the threshold. Unceremoniously, he dumped Hotch on the furthest bed. The agent was still tied. But, just for good measure he shoved a cloth into Hotch's mouth and taped it in place. They didn't need the men making noises and alerting the neighbours.

"Just the way I like him," Mary purred. Now that they were inside the cabin she realized two things. First of all, they all really needed a shower. The second thing she realized was that they all needed new clothes as well. Well, in the case of Hotch and Reid, boxers would suffice for the foreseeable future.

Doug had gone back outside and was pulling Reid inside the room. The young genius was planted on the first bed. Grinning, Doug gagged him as well. The thought of the kid groaning and moaning into the piece of cloth really turned him on.

"We need to take showers," Mary announced. Suddenly the cabin seemed like a much better place to be. "I'm going to go out, get the bags and bring them in. You can start with Hotchner. He's the biggest and the dirtiest."

Liking that idea very much, Doug walked over to the bathroom. Inside he found the traditional bathtub/shower. That was just fine. Turning the water on, Doug closed the drain for the tub and pulled a towel down from the shelf on the wall. He'd considered trying to shower the man but that would be too much trouble. He might save that for young Spencer. Leaving the bathtub to fill, Doug went over to the bed and stripped Hotch's pants off.

Even unconscious, Hotch responded to the sudden cold air on his nether regions. Sucking in a breath through his nose, Hotch blinked quickly, trying to figure out where the hell he was. He didn't recognize anything. Then he felt the rough, male hands on his waist. Fear spiked through him as his shirt was cut off of him. Grinning, Doug appeared in his line of sight and then Hotch was being hoisted over the man's shoulder.

In his wild ride to the bathroom, Hotch got glimpses of the world around him. He spied Reid lying quietly on a bed, he saw the other bed, unoccupied. He saw the standard coat rack. They were in a motel room. Then he was in the bathroom. Doug didn't bother to undo the handcuffs. He simply dumped the man into the porcelain tub.

The water was warm but it was still a shock. But Hotch didn't get a chance to recover as the back of his head bounced off the edge of the tub. Stars appeared before his eyes. His mind swimming, Hotch was only dimly aware of the water being turned off. He was even less aware of his bandage being removed and thrown into the trash basket.

Liking the fact that Hotch was so compliant, Doug picked up a washcloth and a bar of soap. He lathered up the face cloth and then began rubbing layers of dirt off the man's skin. In the room behind him, Doug heard Mary come back in and dump the bags on the ground. Retracing her steps, Mary made sure the SUV was parked behind the cabin so it couldn't be seen from the road. Inside the cabin, she locked the door and then went over to the bags. She'd packed food and some clothes, hopefully it would suffice.

"How's it going in there?" Mary called to her brother. She could hear water splashing and a muffled moan. She liked the sound of that. When Doug didn't respond, she stood up and went into the bathroom.

Doug was cleaning Hotch's groin area. The man was thrashing slightly, as much as the handcuffs would let him, trying to dislodge the cause of the pressure. Hotch's eyes were open but he wasn't really focusing on anything, he was too frantically trying to get away. Smiling, Doug dipped his hands under the water again and continued rubbing. Behind the gag, Hotch moaned louder as he struggled.

"Don't hurt him too much, Doug," Mary said from the door. "I still want to have fun with him today."

"Sure, no problem," Doug responded as he regretfully moved onto Hotch's abdomen. He'd all ready finished washing the man's legs. Now that he was up to the bullet track on his side, Doug was very gentle. He didn't want to start the man bleeding again. Even he knew that would be a bad thing.

While Doug finished working on Hotch's chest and arms, Mary knelt down beside him and began soaking Hotch's hair. It was so dark and short. She wished it would have been longer but it was a good look for him. Picking up the bottle of complimentary shampoo and conditioner, Mary lathered up the dark hair.

"Leave me alone," Hotch tried to say but all that came out was a muffled sound. He fought as hard as his battered body would allow but the two just ignored him. As much as he really wanted to be clean, the fact that these two were touching him left him feeling just as dirty. Tears of frustration crept into the corner of his eyes. He desperately hoped the two didn't notice it. Just then Mary started to rinse his hair. At least it hid the tears.

Exhausted beyond imagining, Hotch finally stopped fighting as they finished and then moved to lift him out of the tub and lay him on a too small towel. Feeling incredibly exposed, Hotch closed his eyes and turned it away from them. At this point there was nothing he could do. Not even his legs were obeying his commands. His hands were trapped underneath him and the gag was making breathing a chore. All he wanted to do at the moment was descend into the comforting darkness of unconsciousness. But that wasn't going to happen.

Hotch tried to ignore it as Doug and Mary eagerly dried the water off his skin. The droplets of liquid were all ready starting to pull his body temperature down. It was a relief as they finished. Mercilessly, Mary pulled a pair of clean boxers up Hotch's legs. Once they were up, she pulled on them a little harder, to snug them into place. The pain this elicited brought tears to Hotch's eyes yet again. A louder moan slipped out from behind the gag.

"Poor baby has a sore bottom," Mary said in a singsong voice. She was loving it. Now that Hotch was clean, he was even more attractive. The last thing that would make him perfect was if he'd let her shave him. The man was becoming a little stubbly. That too was incredibly attractive.

Quickly, Doug pulled Hotch to his feet and then physically dragged him to the bed. The motel was rather old fashioned. It had beds with actual bed frames. There were foot boards and head boards. These would be all too useful. Lying Hotch on his back, Doug quickly tied the man's feet to the corners of the foot board. Satisfied he wasn't going to be able to go anywhere, Doug rolled him over enough to undo the handcuffs. Once Hotch's hands were free, he tried to fight back. Grinning yet again, Doug ignored his pathetic attempts at striking him and tied his wrists to the headboard. This left the Unit Chief spread eagle on the bed.

"Do you need help with yours?" Mary asked. She was hoping he'd say no.

Looking over at Reid, Doug was filled with lust again. He didn't want his sister to touch the young genius. Shaking his head in response, Doug moved over to Reid and picked him up like a child. The profiler was still unconscious but that was okay. This was just the way Doug liked him.

Carrying his burden into the bathroom, Doug laid the man down on the wet towel and pulled the plug on the bathtub. He wanted new, clean water for his toy. Whistling quietly, Doug put the stopper back in the drain and started the water again. Then he turned to the young man on the floor. Reid's clothes disappeared quickly to join the soiled bandage in the garbage.

Doug stood over the man, drinking in his naked body. He was so beautiful and yet so damned innocent looking. It was an intoxicating combination. Lifting Reid up, Doug slipped him into the tub. The young profiler barely reacted. Still whistling, Doug found another face cloth and began scrubbing the smooth, young skin. While he worked, Doug's thoughts turned to the things he could do to the man. He was trying to decide where to start. He desperately wanted to take the man, to make him his own. But would that ruin him for other entertainment? It was so had to decide.

Finished with Reid's body, Doug carefully dunked the boy's head under the water to get his long hair wet. Resting Reid's head on the edge of the tub, Doug retrieved the bottles of conditioner and shampoo and lathered up the wonderful brown locks. It was oddly erotic to be washing the man's hair when he was completely unaware of what was going on. Holding Reid's head out of the water, Doug rinsed the suds out of it and then applied conditioner. He didn't use the stuff but he'd noticed the difference after Mary had used it. He wanted Reid's hair to be clean and soft, just like the rest of him.

Leaving Reid in the water, Doug pulled another towel down, pulled the kid out of the tub and oh, so carefully began drying him off. The anticipation was building. Once he was clean too, the games would begin.

OOOOO

The sheriff sent one of his men to the nearest house to phone in an air lift for the woman. She was in very bad shape. They'd had to jimmy the shackles off her wrists before they could lay her on the blanket covered spring mattress. Morgan was prowling the area, trying to find clues. He knew that Hotch and Reid had been here and recently. He'd found the remnants of their clothes tossed in a corner.

The sight of the shackles sent chills down Morgan's spine. He was having a very hard time trying to concentrate. It was with great relief that he saw Rossi, J.J. and then Emily come down the stairs. Between the four of them they should be able to read the room the figure out where their friends had been taken. The look of shock and dismay that he saw on his colleagues' faces was reflected on his own, he was sure.

"Is that Rachel?" Emily asked. Three of the deputies were performing rudimentary first aid on the woman. It was hard to see a resemblance with the woman from before. Someone had beaten her severely.

"Yeah," Morgan stated. He glanced over at the woman but couldn't quite suppress the anger. Why was she safe and his friends still missing?

"Let's get started. We need to figure out what these people were thinking so we can figure out where they're going," Rossi stated. His voice held more conviction that he actually felt. They were starting from square one. Even Garcia was at a loss without her computers. The computer tech had chosen to stay upstairs. She knew Hotch and Reid weren't here. That was all that mattered to her. Rossi couldn't say he blamed her.

"Where is she?" Jared's voice said from upstairs. Rossi was surprised that the two bounty hunters had bothered to come. Clearly their query wasn't here either. There was a muffled response from one of the deputies. Then Jared was bounding down the stairs. He moved over to where Rachel was lying and hovered. He was afraid to interfere but he needed to know that she was okay.

Coming down the stairs slower, Dave watched his brother with concern. The fear he'd seen in his brother's eyes upon hearing the news over the radio had really rattled him. Why did his brother care so much about this woman? She had caused the whole thing. The only reason Dave didn't pull his gun out and put her out of her misery was because she had helped Jared. Kept him and the others alive. Frustrated, Dave leaned against the wall. Apparently they were going to be here for a while.


	3. Chapter 3

_I'm sorry I screwed up posting chapter two the first time. Thank you very much for bringing it to my attention. That's one of the problems of having more than one story going on at the same time. The fact that I labelled the files as "Mary's Revenge Part Two" kind of threw me too. I just zeroed in on the 'two' part and not the number one after it._

_Ok. I know I was supposed to update the other story next but this one just wouldn't leave me alone. Just so you know, the other version isn't over by a long shot. We still have to deal with the recovery and trial, right?_

_It's the moment of truth. I just hope I didn't screw it up too much. Please let me know if it is at all believable. That's one of the reasons I usually leave the details up to the readers' imaginations._

_If I start getting the two stories mixed up as far as the details go, please forgive me. This is harder some days than others. _

_Anyway, here's the next chapter. It was harder to write than I thought. I've written stories before where my favourite character is raped. It's different when you know other people are going to read it. Enough apologizing in advance. Have fun!_

_Susanne_

_Disclaimer: Sexual abuse ahead, proceed with caution._

CHAPTER THREE

Now that Reid was dry, Doug left him lying on the floor, completely naked, his hands still shackled behind him. Standing over him, Doug felt sensations stirring through his body. Suddenly he couldn't get clean fast enough. Stripping his filthy clothes off, Doug pulled a towel down and turned the shower on. He didn't have the time or patience for a bath.

Scrubbing the dirt and other things off his body, Doug hummed to himself. He was careful to get a clean as he could but without wasting any time. Every few minutes he'd pull the shower curtain back and look down at young Spencer. There was just something about the boy. While he lathered up his genitals, Doug gave his member a few experimental tugs. Could he really do it with another man?

Judging from the semi-rigid state he accomplished with just that small amount of stimulation, Doug decided it was a strong possibility. Quickly, he finished. Turning the water off, he stepped out of the shower. His feet on either side of Reid's hips, Doug looked down on the boy again. No longer semi-rigid, Doug wrapped the towel around his waist, picked Reid up and headed for the bed.

"You should get cleaned up too," Doug suggested as he placed Reid on the bed. The younger agent was laid on his stomach before being secured to the head and foot boards. Maybe later Doug would turn him over. Right now, he was seeing the part of the boy he was most interested in. The last thing he wanted to do, though, was to have his first time be in front of his sister. This time had to be special.

"You're right," Mary said. She'd spent the last several minutes running her hands over Hotch's naked body. She'd quickly pulled the boxers down. They just seemed to be in the way. The Unit Chief tried to not react to her touches and caresses but when she got to his genitals, gunshot wound or his brand, he grunted into the gag. The sound was music to her ears. Yet, she didn't want to dirty him any faster than necessary. Moving over to the backpack with the clothes, she threw a couple of items at her brother before selecting some for herself.

"I'll be right back," Mary said as she headed toward the bathroom. She's selected a satiny negligee she'd bought when first planning this. She hadn't really believed she'd get the chance to use it but there didn't appear to be any better time than the present.

"Don't hurry. Enjoy the feeling of being clean, I know I did," Doug called out to her. He was sitting beside Reid on the bed, the towel still around his waist. The clothing Mary had tossed toward him was still lying on the far side of the bed. He wasn't going to need them any time soon.

As soon as he heard the bathroom door lock and the water start, Doug moved on top of the still unconscious boy. He wasn't sure if it would be more fun this way but it would certainly be easier. He knew the mechanics of sex very well, but he knew this time he was going to be inexperienced and clumsy. Glancing over at Hotch, Doug grinned. The man was glaring at him but was unable to do anything about what he intended to do.

"You want to watch?" Doug asked. He was sitting on Reid's thighs. As soon as he had, Reid had begun to shift slightly. Remembering the wound on his leg, Doug moved until he was resting between Reid's legs. Now this seemed vaguely familiar. Looking down at the young man's back, Doug caught hold of his hips and raised them up toward him. Well, from this angle, things looked remarkably similar.

Beside him, Doug heard Hotch thrashing against his restraints, unintelligible sounds coming from behind the gag. Looking at the man on the next bed, Doug smiled again. He didn't have much time. He'd better get started. Still looking at Hotch, Doug pulled the towel off of his own hips, exposing his full erection. The man's eyes widened and his struggles became even more pronounced.

Shifting into a better position, Doug turned back toward the boy underneath him. Using some of the drops of fluid coming off the end of his member, Doug rubbed them against the boy's rectum. It would have to do. Leaning forward, he pressed himself against the boy's orifice. Moving his hands up to grip the boy's shoulders, Doug felt Reid beginning to stir. It was now or never.

The pain exploded into Reid's mind well before he was even able to process it. It felt like he was being ripped apart while a red hot brand was being forced into his body. Gasping against the gag, Reid struggled to figure out what was going on. None of it made sense. Opening his eyes, Reid saw a well worn blanket under his face.

The pain receded for a moment. Taking a full breath, Reid was just getting used to this new, lower level of pain when it increased again, exponentially. Grinding his teeth into the cloth of the gag, Reid realized for the first time what was happening to him. Panic and terror overwhelmed his all ready muddled mind. _No, no, no, NO, NO!! _Reid's mind screamed as his body was taken in a way it was never meant to be. Bile rose in Reid's throat. Frantically he swallowed it.

Tears of pain, fear and humiliation sprang into Reid's eyes. Looking at the world in front of his face, Spencer saw a wooden headboard. He was no longer in the basement. Somehow that fact didn't give him any solace. The pain in his behind was only getting worse the longer Doug pounded into him. How could people do this willingly? Reid wondered distractedly. Turning his head to the side, the tears running down his face into the gag, Reid's heart stopped.

From his position on the other bed, Hotch was reliving his nightmares. Only this time, they were real. He'd pulled and struggled against his bonds, trying to get free, to reach Reid and do what Rachel had done before. All he'd managed to do was to rip his wrists and ankles open. He hadn't even managed to protect his subordinate. Bile in his throat, Hotch watched as Doug took his fill of Spencer's body. He knew Reid wouldn't want him to see this ultimate humiliation but he couldn't tear his eyes away. Hotch needed Reid to know that he was there, that he would do anything for him.

When Reid's eyes locked with his, Hotch could plainly read the humiliation, terror and intense suffering in those brown depths. He imagined the same emotions were reflected in his own eyes. He was humiliated beyond imagining that he hadn't been able to protect Reid. His surrogate son. He was terrified by what this was going to do to the young man's already battered psyche. While he knew his suffering didn't even begin to measure up to what Reid was going through, he could certainly empathizes. He had the feeling that his time would come. Mary wanted to break him, to make him as vulnerable as she possibly could. She would continue to pressure her brother until Doug had raped him as well.

Sending Reid as much understanding and support as he could through his eyes, Hotch watched as the boy's body stiffened under Doug as the man climaxed. Not done yet, Doug pulled Reid onto his shaft as hard as he could for the few seconds that orgasm gripped him. Then he pumped in and out a few times more for good measure. By this time, Reid had collapsed onto the bed, completely spent. Yet, his muscles continued to spasm as his body rode the waves of pain beginning in his rectum and making their way through the rest of his body.

Spent but satisfied, Doug used the towel to wipe the blood and other fluids off his crotch. Tossing to the side, he quickly donned his clothes. The shower had stopped. He needed to be ready for Mary's wrath. She wouldn't be happy that he hadn't let her watch. Finished dressing, he retrieved the towel and proceeded to clean up Reid's back end. Under his ministrations, Reid writhed in pain and tried to pull away. He enjoyed it while it lasted. Pressing the towel against Reid's back end as he pulled the buttocks out of the way, he felt Reid's back arch away from him and then go completely limp. He'd passed out.

"What have you been doing?" Mary demanded from the bathroom door. Oops. Busted!!

OOOOO

An air flight helicopter landed to the west of the house. The flight paramedics unloaded the metal Stokes stretcher and made their way toward the house and then the basement. Quickly they examined Rachel, stabilized her, bundled her up in the stretcher and carried her out.

Hicks sent his deputies off to search for Mary. He had no doubt at all that the woman was responsible for all of this. Deputy Cullen had gone on the helicopter with Rachel. He too needed to be checked out. He was surprised that J.J. had gone with the woman as well, as had Jared. Luckily the helicopter had been large, in case of more victims.

Standing in the basement, Hicks watched as Morgan, Rossi and Emily moved around the basement, examining everything they could lay their hands on. Of course all three of them had donned latex gloves. The CSI's were still on the way.

"Deputy Cullen had said he'd been shackled in a crawlspace. Do you know where that was?" Rossi asked. He wanted to see everything. Morgan and Emily were busy going through the supplies that had been left behind.

"I think he said it was on the main floor," Hicks stated. Without bothering to see if the agent was coming, Hicks headed upstairs. Panning his flashlight around the living room, Hicks followed the footprints in the filth, being careful to not step in them. They led to one of the bedrooms. Opening the door, he found what he was looking for.

"This must be it," Hicks stated as he stepped into the room and padded toward the furthest most crawl space. His flashlight had picked up the scuff marks, etc on the ground just outside of it. Careful of the marks, he pushed the crawlspace door out of the way with his gloved hands. Rossi came around from the other side, shining his own flashlight inside. The shackles glinted dully in the beam.

"They were definitely more organized this time," Rossi breathed. He knew intuitively that this was the one Rachel had been held in. He also knew what had happened to her and that she hadn't gone down easily.

"Why didn't Deputy Cullen tell us that she'd been raped?" Rossi asked out loud. It didn't make a lot of sense to him.

"I'm not sure. But it's going to be one of the questions I ask when I get to the hospital," Hicks responded. He could feel his stomach churning. He couldn't believe that Mary had allowed that to happen to Rachel. They'd been best friends, damn it.

"Speaking of the hospital, I want to go with you when you head there. I want to be able to question Rachel when she comes around," Rossi stated. The whole place gave him a strong case of the creeps. The thought that Reid and Hotch had spent any time at all here terrified him. What was Mary doing to them?


	4. Chapter 4

_Hello!! Thank you very much for the great reviews!!_

_Well, this time it's Hotch's turn. I know that'll make some people happy (myself included. ;)). So I hope you enjoy the chapter. Don't worry I'm not done with either of them yet. I am finding it hard to write the sexual abuse scenes. But I will keep plugging through it though. This chapter seems similar to Aggie Scott's 'Fixation'. I've been reading that story so I guess there might be similarities. If they seem too similar it was done unintentionally. Aggie, please forgive me, but it was important that Mary start out slowly. This seems to be the only way a woman can rape a man and pleasure herself at the same time. At least, it's the only way I can figure out. Any suggestions?_

_Anyway, I'm in a very apologetic mood apparently. So, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please let me know if anything is out of whack. It's late and I'm not thinking that well._

_Susanne_

_Disclaimer: Sexual abuse ahead. Proceed with caution._

CHAPTER FOUR

Standing in the bathroom door with her hands on her hips, Mary was angry. She could easily tell from the smell in the room and the bloody towel what had gone on. She was extremely disappointed in her brother for not letting her watch the first time. Well, she wasn't going to let him get away with that when it came to Hotchner. She was going to make sure of that.

"Sorry. I didn't want to be watched the first time," Doug said. He ran a hand over Reid's cold, sweaty back. The boy had such smooth skin it was nearly intoxicating. Idly he slipped his fingers between Reid's buttocks and fingered the area he'd just claimed. Even unconscious Reid's body trembled under his touch and small sounds came out from behind the gag. Damn but that felt good.

"Fine, but I want to watch when you do Hotchner," Mary pouted. Dressed in her silky negligee, Mary walked over to the bed her toy was on. Hotch watched her. He'd stopped straining against the ties. He'd lost enough blood. He didn't need to make the situation worse.

Mary ran her right hand up Hotch's left side. She paused at the bullet wound. Hotch stiffened as her cold fingers pressed lightly against the injury. The pains shooting through his body had become manageable until Mary went out of her way to aggravate them. Smiling, Mary slid her fingers over to the brand, her brand. Hotch was hers. No matter what, for the rest of his life whenever he was naked, he would remember her. That thought made her unbelievably happy. He should remember her. After all, he was responsible for her brother's death.

Hotch stiffened again. He couldn't help it. Breathing carefully around the gag, Hotch tried to master his body. Under normal circumstances that wouldn't be a problem. Now, however, given his weakened state and, quite honestly, muddled mind, it became a herculean task.

"I like my men young and pretty," Mary murmured. It was like they were the only two people in the world. Doug and Reid had ceased to exist to the woman. "But you are something special. You speak to my soul. I don't feel dirty and sick when I touch you, I just feel lust."

Bile was rising in Hotch's throat. He didn't want the woman touching him. Her fingers were now trailing up his side toward his chest. He hated being this damned helpless. Tearing his eyes away from Mary's demented face, Hotch glanced over at Reid. It helped to distance himself from his body. Reid was still unconscious, for which Hotch was grateful. Doug was touching the young genius, revelling in the sounds Reid made as he poked and prodded.

Swallowing, Hotch tried to force the bile back down only to have it replaced with more. Vomiting into the rag wouldn't help him at all. Swallowing again in rapid succession, Hotch managed to keep it down. While he'd been distracted, Mary had climbed onto the side of the bed. Sitting down beside his hip, Mary bent over and kissed him in the groin. Revulsion caused Hotch to start shaking. This only seemed to encourage the woman.

Grinning evilly, Mary reached out, grabbed hold of him and began licking, kissing and nipping at his all ready swollen member. It was agony. His entire body stiffened in response to the sensations crashing through him. His teeth were grinding into the gag as he struggled to draw breath around the molten pain in his groin.

Misinterpreting the trembling and sounds that she was hearing under the gag, Mary continued her ministrations. She became more aggressive, trying to illicit a response from the man. Sweat covered Hotch's skin as his body reacted to the pain. The trembling became worse as Mary cupped Hotch's testicles in her hands and squeezed. Hotch cried out into the gag but the sound was muffled.

Thrilled with the response she was getting, Mary drew him into her mouth. Hotch's revulsion tripled. Bile rose again and he swallowed quickly. He kept his eyes closed. It was bad enough he had to feel this. He didn't want to have the memories of seeing Mary's face and mouth going up and down on him. Her teeth grazed the sides of him as she sucked it in and out of her mouth. Tears ran down the sides of Hotch's face, unnoticed.

After several minutes of this torture, Mary had managed to make Hotch sore beyond all belief. Any contact at all felt like sandpaper against his sensitive skin. His face was contorted into a continual grimace as he continued to ride the waves of pain and now nausea passing over his body. Finally, Mary gave up on trying make him erect. Breathing a sigh of relief, Hotch was unprepared for Mary's next move.

The woman virtually vaulted on top of Hotch. She'd positioned herself to land on his genitals. The pain that flashed through his entire body was breathtaking. Hotch struggled against the pain and even more revulsion as he realized Mary wasn't wearing any underwear. She was pressing her genitals against his and had begun to rock back and forth.

Turning his head to the side, Hotch tried desperately to not throw up. The pain and humiliation were overwhelming, taking over for logical thought as it passed over him in wave after wave, in time to the woman's rocking. Unable to stop it any longer, vomit rose in his throat convulsively. He barely managed to keep from breathing it into his nose and lungs.

Mary must have heard the sound or smelled it, Hotch wasn't sure which. Reaching over, she ripped the tape off his face and pulled the gag out. A loud moan escaped as vomit trickled out of the side of Hotch's throat. Thrilled, Mary continued her rocking. She was getting off on it. Hotch could feel her getting wet against him. It sickened him further as more bile burst out. Then Mary was climaxing, her head back as she shrieked in pleasure.

Hotch made a decision at that moment. He had no control over what she did to his body. It disgusted him to admit it but even now, with his mouth clear, he had no idea how to talk her down. He wasn't thinking clearly enough at the moment to fight his way out of a wet paper bag. The only thing he would be able to protect at this moment was his soul. He wasn't going to let her reach that far into him. He would keep the part that made him him out of harm's reach. He wasn't entirely sure how he was going to do that but not taking anything she did personally, but not letting it become a part of him, would be a start.

Shuddering under Mary's body, Hotch felt her begin to rock again. Clearly she wasn't done yet. For the third time, Hotch's body reacted and bile spilled out. The more he vomited, the weaker he was becoming. He didn't have the fluids to lose at this point.

This time it didn't take nearly as long for Mary to climax. She shrieked again and Hotch felt his groin become very moist. This time Hotch had nothing left to bring up. Satisfied for the moment, Mary climbed off of him and headed for the bathroom. Hotch could hear water running for several moments and then she came back with a wet cloth.

"I'm going to clean both of you up. Don't want you getting all sticky and smelly," Mary stated, a broad smile on her face. Descending on Hotch, she began rubbing like she wanted to strip a layer of skin off him. Moaning, Hotch tried to get away from her, without success. Then his mind did the only thing it could to protect him from the abuse, he passed out.

"That's not as much fun," Mary grated. Quickly, she finished with Hotch, rinsed the cloth out and headed over to Reid.

During his sister's performance, Doug had become aroused again. He kept fingering Reid, feeling him tremble and shake as he did so. Watching Hotch's responses had been just another stimulus. But he lost it as Hotch passed out. What was the fun of doing him if he wasn't awake to enjoy it?

So, he stepped out of Mary's way and let her wash Reid's behind. He'd have another chance but right now, he was hungry.

"What did you bring for food?" Doug asked. Idly, he slapped Reid in the butt when Mary as done. That butt was his, to do with as he wanted to. That was a thrill all of its own.

"No, I figured we could get take out. You go, I'm not really dressed," Mary said, curtsying in her lingerie.

"Cool. Real food. What are you in the mood for?" Doug asked. He stood up, pulled his boots on and picked up the keys to the SUV.

"Anything, just be fast. I'm hungry too," Mary said. She stood between the two beds and looked at their two toys. Going back into the bathroom, she rinsed the cloth again and the proceeded to clean up after Aaron. She didn't want housekeeping to come in so they would have to clean up after their toys themselves.

Happy, Doug left the cabin, climbed in the SUV and headed out. When they were driving through town to find this place, they'd driven by a small town drive thru burger place. It would do just fine. Feeling like being a nice guy, he decided to get something for the two men as well. After all, they didn't want them wasting away to nothing. Half way to the burger joint he realized he forgot his cell. Oh, well, it just meant Mary wasn't going to be able to rag on him anymore.

OOOOO

The hospital was all white walls, white floors, white sheets and white dressed staff members. Rossi wondered if a person could go snowblind because of it. He was sitting outside Rachel's room, waiting for the doctors to finish their evaluation and treatment. Sheriff Hicks was standing by the front doors of the ER, speaking on his cell phone. Now that they had coverage again, he had contacted his office to fill them in.

In the room beside Rachel, Deputy Cullen sat on a pristine white hospital bed, looking less than amused. He'd kept insisting that there was nothing wrong with him all the way in. The medics had ignored him after checking his papillary response. They knew he had a concussion. It wasn't unusual for concussion victims to insist they were fine until they collapsed from cerebral pressure. They weren't going to take the chance with the deputy.

Standing up, needing to do something, Rossi stepped into the room. "Hi, Supervisory Special Agent Rossi," he said by way of introduction as he held his hand out.

Taking the man's hand, Jack shook it carefully. Now that he was stationary, his head was starting to pound rather mercilessly. Movement only made it worse.

"I remember you from before," Jack stated.

"Good," Rossi stated. "I was wondering if I could ask you a few questions."

"Ask away," Jack responded.

"How exactly did the accident go down?" Rossi asked.

As clearly and concisely, jack described what happened. He tried to not leave anything out. He knew sometimes it was the smallest detail that broke a case.

"So the SUV left at the scene was driven by Doug," Rossi said more to himself than the deputy. The vehicle had been reported as stolen the night before. The sheriff had thought the owner was telling the truth but it wouldn't hurt to go over that again.

"What happened after that?" Rossi asked.

"I woke up in the back of another SUV. Agent Hotchner was with me. We drove for about three hours, I think, before we reached the house. It was the only stop we made that I was awake for. Doug dragged us out of the SUV but I think he hit us first. Things go a little fuzzy for a little while. Then I was in the crawl space, chained to the wall.

"I don't know how long I was in there. When I couldn't stand having things crawling on me, I started hitting the walls, it scared them away. Sometime later I heard voices outside the door. I recognized Rachel's voice. She sounded angry. Then there was grunting and a sound unlike anything I've ever heard before. I think it was Rachel as Doug raped her," Cullen said. He had to stop and swallow bile. It was all coming back like he was still there. The helplessness washed over him, nearly pulling him under.

"What happened then?" Rossi pushed, trying to ground the man. He could see that he was in a sea of emotion and was having difficulty finding land.

"Ah, I heard Doug leave. Then a while later Rachel was at the door to the crawl space. She got it open and managed to pick the locks on my shackles with my badge. She made me go find help. She couldn't walk and the agents were still chained. It seemed like the right thing to do," Cullen said. As he watched the deputy, Rossi saw the man virtually curl in on himself in misery.

"You did the right thing," Rossi assured him. Given the same set of circumstances he thought he might do the same thing.

Hicks entered the room. "The doctors are finished with Rachel. They've taken samples and pictures. We will be able to build a case once we find the bastards. Are you sure this is Mary again? Who's the guy?" Hicks stated. He'd been so completely absorbed in finding the house that he hadn't taken the time to debrief his deputy.

"I'm positive. It's Mary and her brother, Doug," Jack said. He was shifting uncomfortably on the bed. He hated the damned dresses they made him wear in the hospital. He was getting a chill up his back.

"Did you hear or see anything that might tell us where they're headed?" Rossi asked.

"No. I didn't have much to do with them. I had the feeling they had planned on only having one or two people, not all four of us. The fact that they kept Agents Hotchner and Reid in the basement and Rachel and I upstairs in the crawlspaces told me we weren't the intended victims," Jack said. He'd had a long time to think inside the crawlspace and while he walked.

"I have to agree," Rossi stated. "I just don't understand why they waited until the four of you were together to spring their trap."

"I don't know," Jack said.

"Rachel's awake," the doctor said as he stuck his head in the door. Opening the door the rest of the way, the doctor stepped inside. Now that Rachel was stable and out of danger, he had the time to examine the deputy. "You should go see her, she was asking about Agents Hotchner and Reid."

"Thank you, doctor," Rossi said. Nodding at the deputy, he headed out the door. Maybe now they could get some answers. Or would only more questions lie behind the door? He wasn't sure and didn't dare to hope.


	5. Chapter 5

_Hi. Thank you ever so much for all the beautiful reviews. This story is still whispering things to me. Don't worry, I'm not nuts, my mind just keeps going over all the possibilities, even while I'm doing something else. _

_Anyway, I'm not sure if the scene with Hotch is even physically possible. I didn't bother to do any research but I figured boys have wet dreams so surely this can happen to Hotch while he's unconscious, with some help of course. _

_I hope you enjoy the chapter! I had fun writing it. Is that wrong??_

_Susanne_

_Disclaimer: Sexual abuse ahead. Proceed with caution even though it's not really graphic in nature._

CHAPTER FIVE

Mary was alone with Hotch and Reid. Indecisively, she stood between the two men and tried to figure out which one to play with. Reid was still unconscious from his run in with Doug. The sounds he'd made while Mary had cleaned him but there was only so far she could go with that one. Looking at Hotch as he too lay unconscious was far more appealing.

Kneeling on the bed beside the unconscious Unit Chief, Mary slowly ran her hand from his thigh all the way to his chest. He wasn't as young as Reid but there was something far more appealing to her about him. She wasn't sure if it was because he was closer to her own age, while touching Reid really did make her a little uncomfortable, or if it was because he was such a strong, self-assured man. The type of man who would never let this kind of thing happen to him under normal circumstances. Well, these were not normal times.

Cupping Hotch in her hand, Mary tried to stimulate him. She wanted to very much to make real love with the man, especially since she knew she was the last person he'd choose. Hotch was still swollen from her kicking him before but that wasn't the kind of swollen she was looking for. Getting up, she plopped herself on top of him. Hotch grunted as she landed.

A little rocking elicited a soft moan but no action underneath her. Frustrated, Mary took hold of him again and slid his flaccid member inside herself. Rocking didn't work very well. It just pulled him out of her and added to her frustration. Instead, she slipped him back inside her and milked him with her muscles. It sent shock waves of pleasure through her. It had been so very long since she'd had sex. The feel of a man inside her sent her over the edge. Screaming her ecstasy, Mary threw her head back while the tremors ran through her body.

By the time she came back to herself as the tremors passed, Mary realized that Hotchner was no longer flaccid. Grinning from ear to ear, she pulled herself on and off of him. Within minutes she was surrendering to yet another orgasm. But the agent hadn't come with her. Still rocking him in and out of her, Mary bent forward and began nibbling on Hotch's neck, ear, and chest. Happily, she began sucking on the skin over his collar bone. She'd never given anyone a hickey before. There was no time line the present!

When Mary was rocked with the next orgasm, she felt Hotch release his load as well. Purring like a cat, Mary lay down over top of the man's body and relished in the sensation of his skin. The man's breath was coming out in gasps as the pain rode through his body and yet Hotchner was still unconscious. He had no idea that he'd just had sex with her. Now this was more like it.

Just then, Mary heard the SUV pull up outside. Quickly sliding off Hotch, Mary practically floated over to the bathroom. Retrieving the face cloth, Mary went back to Hotch and cleaned him up. Any pressure at all and Hotch began shifting around. Suddenly his eyes flickered open and he took in his surroundings in a heartbeat.

"That was fun," Mary purred. She was feeling very similar to a content cat so it seemed appropriate for her to purr. Playfully, she ran her hand over the side of Hotchner's face. He really did need a shave. Instinctively, Hotch pulled his head away from her. He tried to tell her to go to hell but the words wouldn't come, the only sound that came out of his mouth was a heartfelt sigh.

Doug entered the room carrying two greasy paper bags in one hand and a tray with pop in the other. "Dinner is served," he stated as he carefully set the food down on the small table.

"Great, I'm starving," Mary stated. Before she allowed herself to eat though, she picked up one of the cups of pop and took it over to Hotch. While it probably wasn't the best thing for him, she figured he could use the sugar as well as the liquid. As she held the straw to the man's dry lips, she almost expected him to turn away as he had so many times before. Instead, though, he wrapped his lips around the straw and drew some of the fluid into his mouth. At the moment it didn't matter if it was drugged or not, he needed the liquid.

"Now too much," Mary said after two mouthfuls. She pulled the straw away from Hotch's lips and set it on the night table between the beds. Hotch tried to move slightly, his muscles were starting to cramp up in his current position. It only made matters worse. A low moan slipped from his mouth as he grimaced in response.

"What's wrong?" Mary asked. The one problem with leaving Rachel behind was that she had the medical knowledge. Mary didn't want her toy to die any sooner than necessary. In fact, she was planning on taking measures to make sure Hotch's team didn't find them too quickly. She knew the BAU team were the only real threats to find them.

All Hotch could get out was a grunt as his muscles finally let up. Closing his eyes, he concentrated on breathing. Something had happened while he was unconscious. He wasn't entirely sure what it had been but his body was exhausted beyond measure. Between that and the pain, he wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to stay awake.

"Here," Mary said as she gave him some more pop. The liquid was very welcome but the sugar was a shock. Pulling as much of the pop out of the cup as he could, Hotch tried to ignore the queasy feeling settling into his stomach.

"You need to let us go," Hotch managed when Mary pulled the straw from his lips. It was the only thing he could come up with at the moment. His thoughts were muddled and disorganized. Something he wasn't used to dealing with. In times of trouble, Aaron had always depended on his mental faculties to get him out of it. That didn't seem likely this time.

"That's not going to happen anytime soon, sweetheart," Mary purred. Grinning, she took the cloth she'd used to clean Hotch with and stuffed it into his mouth. Still grinning, she secured it in place with a new piece of duct tape.

Unable to hold his eyes open anymore, Hotch allowed them to close. The rag was damp at least but it had a strange taste on it. Bile rose again as he recognized one of the nuances. The other one still escaped him, though. Swallowing the moisture, ignoring the taste of vaginal juices, Hotch tried to stay awake. He lost.

Settling down at the table, Doug and Mary ate their burgers and fries. Real food had never tasted so damned good. As they devoured the food, neither of them noticed that Reid had come around.

Stifling a moan, Reid opened his eyes to slits. He wanted to know what was going on before the siblings figured out he was awake. The first thing he checked was Hotch. His boss was looking a little green around the gills on the other bed but his face was slack.

It was kind of strange, even now, to see his boss so completely still and relaxed. It just wasn't something he was used to seeing. Supervisory Special Agent Aaron Hotchner was one of the most dedicated people Reid had ever met. There was a terrible intensity in Aaron's dark brown eyes that Reid never wanted turned on himself. It was like being a deer caught in the headlights. While it was extremely effective on unsubs or during interviews, Reid never wanted to show that much of himself to any of the people he worked with.

Despite the fact that his colleagues thought they knew everything there was to know about Spencer Reid, they were wrong. He'd opened up to Morgan once, about being tied naked to a goal post in high school but there were so many other terrors from his childhood that he didn't want any of them to know about. Even Henkel paled in comparison to some of the things he'd all ready lived through.

Lying on his stomach, feeling the burning and pain in his backend, Spencer knew what had been done to him. He was grateful, however that he'd been unconscious for it. He could deal with it better if he didn't have to remember it. He hoped.

Their food done, Doug decided he wanted a night cap. It was getting late and after having little sleep the last few days he wanted to climb into bed and sleep the night away. Just not yet. Ignoring his sister as she finished her own food, Doug stripped down to his boxers and climbed onto the bed. As much fun as he'd had entering the kid from behind, he thought he might enjoy it more if he could see how his actions affected the boy.

Quickly, Doug undid Reid's ankles. Moving his legs wider, Doug ran his hand between the boy's buttocks until he reached his genitals. Doug paused. He'd never really touched another man before. Not in a lustful way, anyway. Fascinated, he crouched down and wrapped his fingers around Spencer. The skin was so thin and soft. Moaning, Doug felt himself becoming aroused. Letting go of Spencer, he reached up to undo the kid's hands.

Feeling as weak as a newborn, Spencer knew it was now or never. He might never be completely untied again. Ignoring the pain in his body, Reid tried to roll onto his back while simultaneously pushing Doug off of him. Grinning, Doug caught hold of Reid's hands and pushed them up over his head.

Now that Reid was on his back, Doug drank in the beauty of him. He was so child-like in appearance while having the endowment of a man. The thought thrilled Doug. Under his hands Reid struggled, trying to get away. He kicked at Doug with his feet, trying to dislodge him but it was a pathetic attempt. There was no strength to the blows at all.

"You hit like a girl," Doug grinned. He pressed himself against Reid's crotch. There was something electrifying about feeling the other man's genitals against his own. "You're so beautiful."

Reid couldn't tear his eyes off of Doug's face. The lust and malice he saw there mesmerized him. Again, the thought of a deer in the headlights placed through his mind. Then the pain began. Doug had mounted him from the front, pulling Reid's ankles up to his shoulders.

Trembling with disgust and fear, Reid tried to push the man off of him, out of him. But again, his strength had deserted him. He wound up raining soft blows on Doug's chest as he pumped in and out of his rectum. Tears rolled down Reid's cheeks. His face was twisted into a grimace while he shouted into the gag. It was a terrible, rending pain that pushed in and out of him. Finally, Reid closed his eyes and retreated into his own mind.

"Are you just going to lie here and let this happen?" the male voice as so familiar. He'd heard it through most of his high school and college days. Relief and fear passed through Reid's mind. They were back.

"He can take my body but he can't touch my mind," Reid answered back. He was in the furthest reaches of his mind. The very back where he'd built a wall around them. His people. The voices and faces that had haunted him. But this time, he knew how to use them.

"That's just a platitude," the voice growled. It was Tommy, his protector. Through sheer force of his incredible intellect, Reid had trapped and bound his 'people', his alternate selves. If he hadn't been able to, he would have been very similar to the schizophrenic people on the street. Elle had an inkling that he knew what it felt like to have other people in his head. When they were trapped on a train with a paranoid schizophrenic, he'd had to let the cat out of the bag. Afterward he'd denied it. But it had been all too true.

"Fine, you go watch and let me know when it's safe to come out again. I need to figure out a way to get all of us out of here," Reid suggested. He could almost hear the sound of feet as Tommy retreated. Tommy would keep watch through his eyes and ears until Doug was finished. It was the only way to keep Spencer safe. Behind the wall, Spencer could hear the others clamouring to be set free too. Hopefully it wouldn't come to that. Safe in the confines of his mind, Reid tried to come up with a plan.

_Ok. I know that was weird. I didn't explain it very well but after the episode on the train with Elle, I always thought Reid would understand the main character in 'A Beautiful Mind' all too well. I've kind of described it more like multiple personalities but that worked best. I hope I didn't throw anyone too badly!!!_


	6. Chapter 6

_Howdy!! I know. I should be updating the other version. I tried. Today I wrote for over two hours and came up with two pages. Even those two pages were somewhat disjointed. I got frustrated. Life happened for a while today then I sat down for two hours and came up with this. I hope you enjoy it!!_

_I'll revise the beginning of the next chapter for the other version tomorrow night. Life is getting in the way again I'm afraid but I'll have it up tomorrow before I go to bed. I promise._

_Thank you very, very much for all the lovely reviews!! You keep me very motivated to keep going!!_

_Susanne_

_Disclaimer: Sexual abuse ahead so be prepared._

CHAPTER SIX

"How are you feeling?" Rossi asked the woman. Rachel was sitting up in a hospital bed, looking very pale and a little unfocused. He assumed it had either to do with the head wound or pain killers. He just hoped it wouldn't affect her ability to think.

"I've had better days," Rachel answered a small smile on her lips. He saw fear in her brown eyes. "I'm so very sorry that I couldn't stop them from taking Agents' Hotchner and Reid."

"I know," Rossi stated. The fear seemed to be relieved by his words. He realized that she'd been afraid of him and his reaction to her failure. Apparently she'd seen too many bad cop shows and expected him to exact his 'revenge'. "You did your best. I'm sure Hotch and Reid will understand that as well once we find them."

"I wish I could tell you were to start looking. Unfortunately I was unconscious on the floor when they left," Rachel stated. She shifted uneasily under the white sheet. It still bothered her to sit for too long. Doug had done a real number on her. Fighting like she did hadn't helped much either. That part of it she didn't regret at all. It was worth the extra pain.

"That's all right," Rossi stated. "What I would love for you to do, is to tell me what you know about Mary. It will help us profile her and narrow down the possibilities."

"What do you want to know?" Rachel asked. She had the feeling the man was going to be learning just as much about her as Mary during this discussion but she figured she had nothing else to hide. At the moment, all of her dirty laundry was pretty much on display anyway. If airing the rest of it would help find the two agents, she was more than willing to do it.

"What was your childhood like? You were best friends, right?" Rossi pulled the chair closer to her bed and sank down into. With any luck, this was going to be a pretty lengthy discussion.

"At the time, that's what it seemed like. Now that I'm older I realize it was more like master and slave. She tried to control everything I did and everyone I saw. If I dared to go against her wishes she'd figure out a way to 'punish' me. Usually it entailed not seeing me for a day, something like that, but it was enough. I have two older brothers. While we were able to tolerate each other while we grew up we weren't really close. Mary was the center of my world," Rachel stated. She tried to look the man in the eye. He was there to try to help his friends and colleagues. She was willing to do anything that took. But most of the time she found that she preferred to stare at her hands as they twisted in her lap.

"She's older than you?" Rossi asked.

"By three years. She was between the ages of my two brothers. She seemed so much older and more worldly when I met her at four and a half years old. We were similar in a lot of ways. We loved to play with our dolls. But not the female dolls, they were pretty boring. We had male dolls. Ken, Planet of the Apes figurines and later on Luke Skywalker, Han Solo, those types of dolls. We didn't play games where couples met, fell in love and had a family. We played games where men were beaten, raped and abused so that they would be vulnerable. It was our favourite way for them to be," Rachel said, a sad smile touching her lips. She was staring at her hands again. "We used to act out games with the same themes."

"Why do you suppose that was?" Rossi prompted. Rachel had been lost in thought for a few moments. He needed to bring her back again.

"I think it was because of her brothers. They seemed to leave her alone but were always after me to do things with sexual connotations. Once I was wearing a body suit, they asked me to lift my arms up. When I did they said something like 'Yeah, I can see the outline through the fabric'. I had no idea what they meant so I asked them what they were talking about and they said 'Your pussy. I can see the outlines of your pussy.' It doesn't sound like much but I was exposed to things like that every day, from the time I was four and a half until I was twelve. It skewed my perception of myself. I felt dirty most of the time, less than human. I suppose I still have those feelings. Otherwise I wouldn't let people walk all over me, like Mary," Rachel said. "Sorry, that really doesn't help much, does it?"

"Did Mary ever try to protect you from her brothers' unwanted attention?" Rossi asked. So many things about Rachel were coming clear. So too, was the profile of Mary.

"No. If I said anything against any one of them I was immediately excluded from her circle. Family came first. It always did, no matter what."

"Her younger brother's death must have been hard on her then," Rossi stated.

"She blames Agent Hotchner. I've tried to convince her that she only has herself to blame. Of course that doesn't go over very well," Rachel said her eyes on her hands. She could feel her face burning with shame. It made it really hard to look at the man.

"Do you know where she might have taken Hotch and Reid?" Rossi heard the hospital room door open behind him. Glancing in that direction, he saw Morgan and Emily come in. Rachel peered up at them for a moment and then resumed staring at her hands.

"No. Not really. I'd think it would be someplace isolated though. She likes to hear your agents in pain. If anyone was too close they'd get suspicious. I'm really sorry that I can't tell you exactly where to go. I can only imagine what Doug and Mary are doing to them. The only reason I told Doug to have sex with me was because Mary was trying to push him to rape Hotchner and Reid. I hoped I could prevent that from happening if he was busy with me." The words were a little muffled as Rachel spoke. Her head kept moving a little closer to her chest. It was then Rossi saw her stifle a yawn. The doctor had said she would still be drowsy. He supposed he should be happy to have gotten as much as he had out of her.

"I have to ask you one more question, Rachel, if that's all right," Rossi pressed. He wasn't ready to deal with Rachel's admission about inviting the rape. It was an extremely brave thing for her to do, but also incredibly foolhardy.

"What would you like to know?" Rachel asked as she peered up at the other two agents by the door again. Morgan was extremely intimidating at the moment. He was scowling at her as if he wanted to rip her head off. She was in such a vulnerable state that she didn't realize it was because of the continued captivity of his friends, not because of anything she had said or done.

"When you were growing up together, playing your games, did either of you ever really hurt someone in those ways?"

"No. They were just games. No one ever got hurt. That was the point. We could live out our deepest, darkest fantasies about our favourite book, TV or movie characters without anyone every being hurt," Rachel said. While she talked, she unconsciously slid a little deeper under her blanket and pulled it up close to her chin. Her eyes kept straying from just above Rossi's shoulder to where Morgan stood resting against the wall with his arms folded across his chest. Emily stood quietly beside him but she had a more inviting expression on her face.

"Thank you very much for allowing me to speak to you," Rossi said as he stood up from the chair. "I wonder if I might be able to come back later, after you've rested."

"If it will help get your agents back, you can wake me up anytime. Just don't ask me to go dancing," Rachel said as she shook her right hand. She was hand cuffed to the bed rail. She was a convict, after all.

A smile played across Rossi's face. Nodding at the women, he ushered the other two BAU members out of the room.

"You should have told us you were going to go in there," Morgan growled. He knew Rossi was his senior but it still burned him that the man hadn't let them in on his plan. While he'd talked to Rachel, the two of them might have picked up on something the older man might have missed.

"You intimidate her. I was hoping she'd open up more if you weren't there," Rossi admitted. He'd seen how timid her glances had become when Derek had arrived. The man had been less than understanding the last few times they'd met.

"Did she?" Emily asked. She was trying to prevent a major blow out between the two men. That was the last thing they needed at the moment. "Did she open up to you?"

"Yes. Let's go to the motel and I'll fill you in," Rossi stated. J.J. was all ready there, having set up rooms for all of them. So long as Hotch and Reid were missing, none of them were going home.

"Let's go," Morgan said as he glanced back at the woman in the room. She'd settled back against the bed and appeared to be sound asleep. He envied her that ability. He felt like he hadn't slept in a month. He had to concede, however, that her head injury might be playing a part in it.

"We'll find them, don't worry," Rossi stated as he led them down the hallway.

OOOOO

"How are we going to work this?" Doug asked. He was looking at the two beds being taken up by the spread eagle men. It was going to make sleeping a little difficult. Doug wasn't used to sharing a bed with anyone anymore.

"I have a plan," Mary responded. She'd watched her brother with Reid. It was truly intoxicating watching him spear the boy's body with his member. Distractedly, she wished she could do that too. It seemed to give him such power over the boy. She was currently sitting beside Hotch. Her toy was awake. She was considering their next move. But his naked body so close to her kept drawing her attention elsewhere.

"Good. I'm getting tired," Doug stated. He had taken up a position in the chair by the door. He didn't feel like sitting beside the kid. He was too tired after having performed twice in one day.

"Just give me a little more time to play. Why don't you turn the TV on or something," Mary stated. Grinning evilly, she shimmied down to sit beside Hotch's hip. Then she leaned over and gently picked up his member. It was covered in such beautifully soft skin. She supposed they all were but Hotch's seemed that much more so at the moment. Looking up at his livid brown eyes, Mary continued to bend until her lips hovered just above it.

Grunting into his gag, Hotch tried to dislodge the woman. It didn't work. Still grinning, Mary kissed him. The feel of her lips on his flesh sent a chill of revulsion through him. Mary seemed to misinterpret the reaction as a sigh of ecstasy escaped from her lips. Putting the head of his member into her mouth, she began to suck on it.

Bile rose in Hotch's throat once again as he watched the woman's head slowly bob up and down on top of him. Her mouth was moist and wet and, under different circumstances, might have brought him pleasure. At the moment, though it just gave him the creeps. Desperately, he continued to struggle to get away. The movement and the pressure of Mary leaning over him were aggravating his wound and brand, not to mention his still swollen genitals. Ignoring the pain, he continued to thrash. There was no way he was going to allow her to do this without letting his opinion be known.

"You are so beautiful," Mary murmured when she'd pulled him out of her mouth. Hungrily, she ran her tongue up the side of his shaft, hoping to arouse him. Again she felt the shiver pass through his body as he fought but she was beginning to think it wasn't lust that was stirring in him.

Slipping Hotch into her mouth as far as she could get it, Mary bit down on it ever so slightly. She felt Hotch stiffen underneath her. She still didn't think he was taking her seriously, though. So she left her teeth pressing against his skin, ever so slightly, while she began to thrust him in and out of her mouth. Hotch moaned into the gag. The longer she did it, the louder his moaning became.

As much as she thoroughly enjoyed the sounds the agent was making, Mary was becoming frustrated that she couldn't get him aroused. She'd done it while he was unconscious but now, when he knew what she was doing, he didn't respond at all. That just pissed her off. Reaching down between his legs, Mary took hold of his testicles and squeezed like she was trying to make orange juice from them.

A scream was ripped from the agent's throat. Even muffled by the gag, Mary relished in the sound. Releasing the pressure for a moment, she did it again. This time Hotchner was better prepared. All she got out of him was a much lower groan.

"You're no fun at all," Mary grumbled. Moving away from Hotch, she turned back to him long enough to slug him in the genitals. The sound he made into the gag cheered her considerably. Ready to go to bed, Mary looked over at the chair her brother had been occupying just a few short minutes ago. He wasn't there.

Turning her head, she found him on Reid's bed. He'd pulled his pants down to reveal a glorious erection. Apparently he'd gotten off on her little show and needed to find a way to relieve the pressure. He'd untied the boy's wrists and ankles. The kid was so weak and beaten that he didn't think he'd be going anywhere. Then he'd positioned himself over top of Reid's face. Opening the kid's mouth, he'd stuffed himself inside it and was proceeded to thrust himself in and out of it. As Mary watched, Doug climaxed, squirting his sperm into the boy's mouth. Reid choked on the vile liquid and promptly threw it up.

"You should have swallowed that, kid," Doug growled as he slapped Reid across the face, hard. "That might be the only food you're going to get for a while."

Blinking back tears, Reid simply looked at the man as his stomach protested again. Turning his head to the side, Reid threw up the rest of his stomach contents. Doug struck him again and Reid tasted blood in his mouth.

"I want to go to sleep. What's your brilliant idea?" Doug demanded. He slapped Reid one more time for good measure. The kid should have swallowed it. He'd make sure he did the next time. As he got off the bed, Doug made sure to grind his knee into the kid's genitals. Reid folded in on himself as the new pain registered. He was trying desperately to draw enough breath through his nose as he panted through the pain. He felt like he was drowning on dry land.

Without answering, Mary struck Hotch in the groin as well. It was the quickest way to debilitate the man. As Hotch verged on unconsciousness, Mary quickly untied his wrists, before tying them again in front of him. Then she untied his feet. These she left untied, for the moment. Without warning, she pushed Hotch off the bed and allowed him to fall unceremoniously on the carpet covered cement floor between the edge of the bed and the wall of the bathroom.

"Bring the kid over here," Mary ordered. There wasn't more than two and a half feet between the bed frame and the wall. It was just the right size. She forced Hotch to roll over until he was lying on his left side, his injured side. It made her smile to think of him being in pain all night long, served him right for not responding to her.

Ungently, Doug picked the still panting Reid up like a sack of potatoes and carried him over to where Hotch was still struggling to recover on the floor.

"Get the ropes, I'm going to need them," Mary stated as she watched her brother dump the kid into the room left over in the narrow space. While Hotch was still reeling, Mary rolled Reid over until he was facing his boss, and then she pulled Hotch's tied hands up and around Reid's back. When Doug returned with the ropes, she tied Reid's hands behind Hotch's back. Then she turned her attention to the men's legs. She tied Hotch's right leg to Reid's right leg and Hotch's left leg to Reid's left leg. It left the rope crisscrossing between the men's legs. She hoped it would keep them under control while she and her brother caught some sleep. Lastly, she tied Hotch's wrists to the bed frame. No use taking any chances.

"That's brilliant," Doug stated admiration in his voice. His sister really was a criminal mastermind. Who knew?

"Well, it should keep them secure for the night," Mary said modestly. Satisfied, she climbed back up onto the bed. Luxuriously, she spread her arms and legs. It was going to be so nice to have the bed, all to herself. Taking her lead, Doug pulled the bedspread off the bed closest to the door and then collapsed on top of it. He was exhausted. Not even bothering to turn the lights or TV off, the two fell instantly asleep.

The pain in his groin still smarting, Hotch slowly became aware of a cool, naked body pressed up against him. Opening his eyes, he found wavy chestnut hair in his line of sight. The size of the body indicated that it wasn't Doug, for which he was thankful for. Then he heard Reid moan quietly. An emotion akin to joy flooded the Unit Chief. Unconsciously, he pulled the younger man a little closer. This was not how he'd planned on spending the night but at least if he was tied around Reid, Mary and Doug would have to leave them alone. They could get some sleep. The only thing that concerned him, though, was that he all ready felt the cool from the floor was all ready seeping into his bones. It was with relief that he gave into unconsciousness.

When Reid came aware again, he was mortified to find he was tied to his naked boss. Of the people in the room, he preferred to be tied to Hotch but it still was very uncomfortable, especially given their current state of undress and the fact that Mary had left Hotch's legs wrapped around his. Shrinking back into his mind, Reid sent Tommy out as look out again. It was so much easier. Tommy was tough. He could handle anything Doug threw at them and not say a word.

In the back of his mind again, Reid tried to ignore the clamouring of the others. They really wanted to get out but he wasn't ready to resort to that yet. Things would have to get a whole lot worse before he'd let that happen. Visions of being tied to the goal post flashed through his mind. It had been cold then too. Quickly, he squashed the memory. He needed to deal with what was happening now. If only he could figure out a way to get them both out of here.

With Tommy in charge, Reid rested his head against Hotch's collar bone and closed his eyes. He needed the sleep too. The room became quiet except for the movie playing on the TV. Listening to Tom Cruise and Nichole Kidman in 'Far and Away', Reid slipped into sleep and the voices in his head stilled.


	7. Chapter 7

_Yay! I got this chapter out. This is the fourth story I've updated today. Don't worry, I'll probably update this one again tomorrow. Out of the five stories I'm currently writing this one seems to be coming easiest. All the wonderful reviews certainly seems to help too!!!_

_I hope you enjoy the new chapter!_

_Susanne_

_Disclaimer: Sexual abuse ahead, proceed with caution._

CHAPTER SEVEN

His eyes closed, Hotch kept remembering watching Doug thrust himself into Reid's mouth. The images twisted his stomach, pushing bile up his throat again. Jerking away, Hotch looked around. It took a few moments to remember why he was lying on the floor and who was in his arms. The movement had awakened Reid.

Those brown eyes Hotch was so used to looking at gazed up at him. His heart went cold. The consciousness behind those brown depths was that of a stranger. Had the abuse unhinged his friend and subordinate? The bile returned with a vengeance. Still staring into Reid's eyes, Hotch fought the tide rising in his throat. Now was not the time.

'Hey!' Tommy called from the front of Reid's mind. 'Your boss is awake. He's looking at me.'

Fear spiked through Reid's mind. Hotch would know the difference. Quickly, he gently thrust Tommy aside and took control over his mind and body. As he focused his eyes, Reid found Hotch staring at him. Spencer thought he saw something akin to fear in his boss's eyes.

"It's okay," Reid whispered to Aaron. "I'm okay."

Then Reid realized his boss was still gagged while he wasn't. He tried to ignore the taste of semen and bile in his mouth. Tommy hadn't told him what had happened, he never did. But judging by how bruised his lips were feeling and the blood running out of the corners of his mouth, Reid had a pretty good idea. Add to that the unpleasant tastes in his mouth, Reid fought to not retreat.

Feeling incredibly self-conscious, Reid pressed his cheek against Hotch's and then used his tongue and teeth to catch the edge of the duct tape holding the gag in his boss's mouth. It was bad enough that they were both naked. Reid hated having to run his tongue against his superior's face. Unfortunately, it was the only option he could come up with. Finally, he got the edge between his teeth and began pulling it.

As he worked, Reid was grateful that the TV was still on. It covered the sounds of the two of them moving around and of the tape pulling off of Hotch's skin. Finally, Reid pulled the last of it off and Hotch spit the gag out of his mouth above their heads somewhere.

"Thank you," Aaron whispered his voice dry and crackly. The pop Mary had allowed him to drink seemed so very long ago. "Are you okay?"

Reid had to try to suppress a laugh. Of course he wasn't all right but Hotch knew that. He'd seen it in Spencer's eyes when Tommy had been looking out at him. There was no way Hotch had missed that. Swallowing fear and unease, Reid nodded his head, yes. He didn't trust his own voice at the moment.

"Can you get loose?" Hotch asked. He was very relieved to see Spencer, his surrogate son, looking out at him from those brown eyes. What the hell had just happened? Hotch's mind wandered back to the situation on the commuter train. Reid had said some things during the time in the car, trying to talk a paranoid schizophrenic down, that had disturbed Hotch. Afterward, Reid had laughed his concerns off. Now he wasn't so sure.

Reid struggled against his bonds. It didn't last long. He had no strength left. Defeated, he shook his head, no. "Are you all right?" Reid asked his voice very quiet. The TV would only cover up so much sound with Mary lying just a few inches away.

"I'm ready to get out of here," Aaron said. He pulled on his own bonds. Mary had made them as tight as she could. In their weakened states, neither man was able to get loose. Sagging, Hotch rested his head against the ground, closed his eyes and tried to recover. He was still in agony because of Mary's treatment but he'd shoved it in the back of his mind. It wasn't helping and they were running out of time. There were only so many things the two could do to them before they became bored. Then they'd have to find different thrills. That would not bode well for either man.

"They're going to kill us soon, aren't they?" Reid asked. He couldn't help it. He knew from their actions so far, that either one of them were now capable of it. The young genius couldn't come up with anything else to say.

"Yes," Hotch replied. Opening his eyes, he took a closer look at his friend. He'd seen Doug strike Reid across the face after forcing himself into Reid's mouth. There had been a distant look on Reid's face, like he really wasn't there. It was a defence mechanism, Hotch was sure of it. So far it appeared to be effective but he wasn't sure how much longer either of them could hold out. Where was the team? Why hadn't they found them so far?

"Do you suppose Rachel's dead?" Reid asked. He couldn't help it. He shifted a little closer to Hotch and rested his head against his boss's shoulder. He'd started trembling. He didn't know if it was fear, shock or cold. At this point it didn't matter. He just wanted it to stop. His body didn't have the strength to let it go on for very long.

"I hope not," Hotch responded. "She might be the link that gets us out of here."

Mary shifted on the bed above them. Both men went still. Hotch had begun to tremble as well. The floor was cold. It was causing their body temperatures to go down. Just another thing to add to their lists of complaints, he just hoped it wasn't the straw that broke the camel's back.

The bedspread moved and then tumbled over them. It didn't land properly but at least it was some warmth. Suddenly so very tired, Hotch rested his chin against the top of Reid's head and gave in to the darkness. He just hoped he'd wake up in the morning.

Listening to Hotch's breathing deepen and even out, Reid decided he had the right idea. If they got some sleep, maybe they'd have the strength to keep going. Closing his eyes, Reid snuggled his head into the crook of Hotch's shoulder and relaxed. Sleep took him quickly.

OOOOO

Morning came all too soon. The bedspread was pulled off the agents, allowing the cool air to reach their skin. The shock woke Hotch up and he was left blinking in the light coming from the ceiling. Looking at the side of the bed above them, Hotch found Mary leaning over it, smiling happily at him. She released the rope holding Hotch's wrists to the bed frame.

"Good morning!" Mary said. "Are you ready?"

"Ready for what?" Hotch couldn't help but ask. Then Doug came around the side of the bed and dragged both men out from between the bed and the wall. Hotch hissed as his side was rubbed raw with the industrial carpet. In his arms, Hotch felt Reid jerk awake as Doug untied the ropes on his wrists.

Before the young profiler had the chance to react, Doug pulled his wrists behind him and slipped the hand cuffs on them. Then he undid Hotch's hands and did the same thing. That just left the men's legs. As he undid Reid's legs, the kid lashed out, connecting with the man's chin.

Startled, Doug was completely unprepared and took the full brunt of the blow. He saw stars floating around his head as he sat back on his butt. Reid struggled to get to his feet but he couldn't quite do it. Mary reached over, grabbed him by the hair and smacked the back of his head against the floor. The carpet cushioned the blow enough to keep it from cracking his skull but it still stunned the young genius.

Reid's body completely relaxed and Doug pulled Hotch away from him. Furious, he threw the older agent on Mary's bed. Ignoring the blankets, Doug rolled Hotch onto his stomach. Instantly the Unit Chief knew what was about to happen. He struggled, trying to get off of the bed. Growling, Doug struck him upside the head, effectively stunning him.

"Make the bitch watch," Doug growled to his sister. Once he was sure that Reid had front row seats, Doug pulled Hotch's hips up and thrust his erection inside. Unable to stop it, Hotch let out a scream. It was beyond any pain he'd had to endure so far. Doug hadn't taken the chance to use any form of lubricant. He pressed himself as far into Hotch's body as he could and then tried for another few inches. Loud moans slipped out of Hotch's lips as he tried to pull away, to relieve some of the pressure. He felt the pain from his thighs, along his spine, all the way to his diaphragm.

Grinning, Doug pulled himself out. He glanced over at Reid. The kid was on his bed, Mary holding his face so he had to look. Fingering his bloody member, Doug rammed into Hotch's body again. Hotch's back arched as the renewed pain overwhelmed him. Tears were sliding down his face but he didn't notice. All he knew was pain and humiliation.

It seemed to last forever. Hotch's eyes were closed and his body completely limp by the time Doug climaxed, shooting his load into the agent's body. A low cry was all Hotch could manage. He was covered in a thick layer of sweat. He'd thrown up four or five times until all that he was left with were the dry heaves. He was vaguely aware of Reid's eyes on his face. It didn't matter. He felt broken as Doug pulled his hips a little bit closer. He'd be surprised if his legs continued to work after this.

Finished, Doug pulled himself out of Hotch, letting him collapse bonelessly onto the bed. Then he headed for the shower. He didn't want to leave the fluids smearing his genitals long enough for it to grow tacky and hard. That would just be gross.

"So," Mary purred as she knelt down beside the bed. Idly she ran a finger along Hotch's nearest thigh up toward his butt. Hotch tried to move but he couldn't. Then she was slipping her finger inside but compared to what had just been there, it was insignificant. "How was it?"

Ignoring the woman, Hotch turned his unfocused eyes toward the other bed. He could just make out Reid's form. Then darkness, blessed darkness descended and Hotch felt no more.

"Why are you doing this?" Reid asked as he looked at his boss. It had been awful watching at Doug raped him. Reid had wanted to pull his eyes out of his skull and throw them away. The whole thing was made that much worse by the sounds Hotch had made. Tommy had wanted to come forth but Reid wouldn't let him. This was something Reid had to go through. Hotch had done it for him.

"Because I can," Mary responded. The smile was on her face again. Moving over to the bed, Mary stuck her bloody finger into Reid's mouth. The move was unexpected. Reid pulled back just a little too late. Mary smeared the blood and other fluids on his lips and face.

"The team is going to find you and kill you," Reid said. He knew it wasn't very logical but damn it felt good.

Mary laughed. "Only if they can find us."

OOOOO

Penelope was disconsolate. She'd been watching on her laptop, hoping against hope that the cell phone numbers she now knew belonged to Doug and Mary would pop up outside the dead zone. So far she'd seen nothing.

"It's not your fault, baby," Morgan said. He'd come to the hotel to take a shower. He could take one in the hospital but had wanted to get away, even if just for a few minutes. Rossi was at the local police station, trying to run down every lead.

Thanks to J.J., they now had a tip line set up and had plastered pictures of Mary and Doug all over the TV. Out of the hundred and fifty tips so far, all of them had been duds. That didn't stop them, however. They were out there somewhere. Now they had thousands, tens of thousands of eyes out there watching for them.

The talk with Rachel had helped. They knew more about Mary and Doug than they had before but it hadn't given them any further insight into where they'd gone. Thanks to the low population density of the area, there were an awful lot of isolated places for them to have gone. The fact that they hadn't left the dead zone helped but not enough.

"What is she doing to them? How much more can they take? Are they even still alive?" Penelope was having a minor melt down. Tears streamed down her face, ruining her makeup but she didn't care. Emily was at the police station with Rossi and J.J. Garcia had been in the hotel room alone for hours all ready. Clearly it had been the wrong course of action.

"I don't know," Morgan admitted. He was showered and dressed. He needed to get some breakfast. He'd been up for four hours, long before the sun had come up. He could feel his blood sugar dropping. It was time to take care of himself for a few minutes. "Come on, Penelope, let's get some breakfast."

"How can you think of food at a time like this?" Garcia demanded. She couldn't believe what she was hearing even as her stomach growled loudly.

"We won't do Hotch or Reid any good if we get run down. Come on. We both need a break," Morgan said as he handed Garcia a handkerchief and her purse. It was time they started living again, instead of being on pause. He was hoping that by changing the walls they were staring at that they might get a new view on the situation. At this point, it was worth a try. Wiping the mascara off her face, Garcia allowed Morgan to escort her out of the hotel room.


	8. Chapter 8

_Good evening!!! Things are moving along. Thank you very much for all the reviews! I really do appreciate them. I hope you enjoy the new chapter!!_

_Susanne _

_Beware, sexual abuse ahead!! _

CHAPTER EIGHT

"Are you sure?" Mary asked. Hotch was coming back. It had been a long torturous journey. Subconsciously he wanted to stay in the darkness where there was no pain, no cold, no humiliation. Consciously, he had to know what was going on. He couldn't prepare himself if he didn't know what was coming. Besides, he needed to know how Reid fared.

"Yeah, this is a good place," Doug stated. Prying his eyes open, Hotch blinked against the light filtering through the curtains on the window. He could just make out Reid, once again tied to the bed frame on his stomach. Carefully Hotch took stock of his own body. Everything hurt. His back end had joined the cacophony but now was no worse than his side or the brand that Doug had ripped open with his too tight grasp of his hips. Memories of what he'd been through came rushing back, the fear, the pain, the smell. Bile rose in his throat but the gag was back.

"It'll mean you don't have a vehicle," Mary continued. Hotch didn't have the strength or inclination to find out where the siblings were. He'd find out soon enough. On the other bed Reid seemed to be sleeping. At least Hotch hoped so.

"That's okay. I'll find a new one," Doug stated. There was shuffling behind Hotch. He didn't bother to try to turn around. He wasn't tied to the bed frame. This concerned him. What did it mean? He didn't have the mental faculties at the moment to think it through.

"Okay, well, keep your cell phone close. I'll give you a call or text if I see anything suspicious. Will you help me?" Mary asked. There was more shuffling. Then a hand caught hold of Hotch's left leg. He tried to pull away but his legs didn't respond. He could feel the hand as it gripped him so he wasn't paralysed. Then fabric slipped over first one foot and then the other. Doug grabbed him and lifted him enough for Mary to slip the boxers up over his hips. New pain flashed but it was numbed considerably by the fact he was now wearing clothes. Well, a piece of clothes. That was better than none.

Hotch's hands were still cuffed behind his back and the gag was in place. Mary threw a blanket over him. Then Doug picked him up over his shoulder. The only thing he could see was Doug's back as they moved across the hotel room. They were through the door in an instant and then Hotch was dumped into the back of the SUV.

"Thanks," Mary said. "Take care. I'll see you at the end of the week back at the homestead."

"Sure thing. Drive safe. You don't want the cops stopping you," Doug said. The door to the back of the SUV slammed shut. Hotch was still covered in the blanket so he couldn't see anything. But then that was probably the point. If he couldn't see out then no one could see in. He felt the motor rumble. They were getting ready to leave. Where was Reid? They were splitting up. Fear spiked through Hotch. That meant Reid was alone with the bastard. The vehicle shifted into gear.

Panic was threatening to take over for logical thought. What would Doug do to Reid without Mary there? What wouldn't he do? Did it matter at the moment? They'd both all ready been raped. What more could be done to them? The gentle rocking of the vehicle conspired against him. Despite the thoughts racing through his mind, Hotch fell asleep.

OOOOO

Mary was gone. That was a good thing. Grinning in delight, Doug stepped back into the motel room. It was paid for for two more days. What things could he manage to do during that time? Well, the most obvious desire had reasserted itself. He was getting hard just thinking about Reid lying on the bed, waiting for him. Shutting the door, he slipped the privacy chain on and dead bolted it. He turned to look down at the beautiful body lying naked and bound on the bed.

"Well, it's just you and me, kid. Let's see what we can get up to," Doug said as he stripped off his shirt and began working on his pants. If he hadn't had to go outside he wouldn't have bothered. In the next few days clothes weren't really going to be needed. As he worked, he leaned over and slapped Reid on the butt.

Startled awake, Reid pulled against his bonds and then glanced over at the other bed. He went completely still when he saw that it was unoccupied. What the hell?

'They took him out,' Tommy informed him. Reid had given in to sleep, expecting terrible things to be coming up soon. He thought he might need the strength. Now he wished he hadn't.

'How long ago?' Reid demanded. He looked around frantically in the confines of the room. His eyes came to land on Doug, standing beside the bed, his erect member hanging out. _Not again,_ Reid begged.

'Five, six minutes,' Tommy stated. He knew what was coming. It was no surprise to him. Gently, he pushed Reid toward the dark recesses of their mind. Reid didn't need to be present for this. That's what Tommy's job was. 'I'll let you know when it's safe.'

Regretfully, Reid allowed himself to be insulated. Tommy was right. He didn't need to be present for what was about to happen. Instead, he turned his thoughts to his boss. What was Mary going to do with him? Why did she leave them here?

Not really liking the blood, Doug took the time to apply proper lubricant this time. Slathering it on, he pulled on his member a couple of times. He was going to enjoy this. Climbing up between Reid's legs, he pulled the boy's hips up and slipped inside. Reid's body stiffened under him, trying to pull away.

Pulling the hips a little bit closer, Doug began a slow, almost tender rhythm against Reid's back end. He didn't want to rush it this time. He wanted to enjoy every thrust, every sound. All ready Reid was grunting into his gag. It was such a wonderful sound coming out of such a beautiful mouth. Still thrusting in and out, Doug considered ways of teaching Reid to swallow what he gave him. The options made him even hornier.

Underneath the large man, Tommy felt the pain burning through his rectum and the tender tissue beyond. The man wasn't being as brutal but that almost made things worse. This time he was moving slowly. While it probably caused him more pleasure, it caused Tommy/Reid more pain as his member scrapped along the inside of his body. His back arched away from the man while tremors of exhaustion were all ready wracking Reid's body.

"Oh, yeah," Doug breathed as he got a little faster. The images in his mind were really turning him on. Between that and the tightness of Reid's body, he was coming too fast but he didn't care. He had all the time in the world at the moment. He could hear Reid grunting with each thrust. Grinning, the trust a little bit harder and a little bit faster. Gripping the kid's hip in one hand, to keep his balance and to keep the right angle, Doug leaned over a little and caught hold of the kid's genitals. The sensation of squeezing and pulling sent him over the edge. He filled the man with his juice. Collapsing over Reid's back, he continued to play even though he wasn't getting a reaction.

_Go ahead and play,_ Tommy thought. _Better men than you have tried and failed._ Memories of the football team played through his mind. They hadn't raped Reid, they weren't that twisted despite their actions but they had taken turns striking Reid in the genitals, trying to get a response. They were young and ineffectual. There had been others but Reid had blocked the memories. Tommy knew all about the men and women but he kept them to himself. It was what he did best.

Pulling himself out and off, Doug meandered toward the shower. He wanted to get clean before he headed for the diner again. He was hungry and the cold food from last night just wasn't doing it for him. Besides, as much as he wanted Reid to swallow him, he knew the kid was going to need more than that if he was going to survive for any length of time. Doug planned on keeping him around for a while.

OOOOO

Feeling human again, Doug looked at the kid lying on the bed. He was so beautiful. Idly he ran a hand from Reid's ankle all the way to his butt. Fingering the mess he'd left, Doug decided Reid needed a bath. Well, he was too hungry to do it now but he didn't want to leave the kid lying on the bed, leaking stuff on the blankets. He didn't want the cleaning staff figuring out what was going on in here.

Untying Reid's legs, Doug moved to undo his wrists. Once he had one undone, Tommy rolled over and struck out of him. It wasn't well planned but somehow, Tommy managed to hit Doug in the nose. Blood sprayed out of it as it broke. Cursing, Doug pounded Reid in the face, once, twice. Stunned, Tommy was unable to fight as Doug finished untying him, one hand pressing against his nose to stem the tide of blood. Grabbing Reid by the hair, Doug dragged him over to the bathroom. Unceremoniously, he dumped the kid into the bathtub.

Using the handcuffs and rope, he secured Reid inside the bathtub. He'd deal with him once he came back from getting some food. He moved over to the sink, readjusted his nose in the mirror and wiped at the blood. Cursing under his breath, Doug threw the damp towels from the night before on the still stunned kid before leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind him. He had to change his shirt because the one he was wearing was smeared with blood now. That done he picked up the motel key, his jacket, his wallet and his phone and headed out the door. The last thing he did was hang up the 'do not disturb' sign on the door knob. The last thing he needed was the housekeeping staff going in there to clean up.

Satisfied, Doug pulled his jacket a little closer around him and started walking. The walk would do him good. He hadn't been getting enough exercise of late. Chuckling at the thought, Doug walked past the last cabin and started walking along the sidewalk. The diner was just a couple of blocks away. He'd be back in no time.

OOOOO

"Feeling better?" Morgan asked. He was sitting across from Garcia at a table at a small diner. They had finished their meal. It was quite good if a little simple but it certainly filled them up. Derek had his back towards the door. He'd texted Rossi and told him that they'd be at the police station within the hour. Rossi had replied that there wasn't much going on so to take their time.

"No," Garcia answered, rather petulantly. Then a smile perked up the corners of her mouth. Morgan had been right. She felt much better now that she'd eaten and taken some time away from her computers.

"Sure thing baby girl. Are you ready to head back to the police station?" Derek asked.

"I need to go back to the hotel first. I want to pick up my laptop," Garcia responded. Someone walked into the restaurant. While not an unusual occurrence, Penelope glanced up as the person made their way to a booth along among the windows. Idly, she looked back at Morgan. The blood ran out of her face.

"What's wrong?" Morgan asked immediately. Garcia looked like she'd seen a ghost. Then he glanced up at the man as he walked by.

"It's him," Garcia whispered after the man had passed. "It's Doug West!!"

Instantly on his feet, Morgan paced behind the man and tapped him on the shoulder before he had a chance to sit down. Surprised, the man turned to face Morgan. He recognized the man instantly. He couldn't believe it. Curiously, Doug was looking at him. "Is there something I can do for you?" Doug asked.

"Put your hands on top of your head!" Derek demanded his hand going back to rest on his holstered gun.

"Hey, man, what's going on?" Doug asked, the curiosity being replaced by another emotion, anger.

"Are you Doug West?" Morgan demanded. He could hear Garcia behind him, on her phone, calling Rossi and the local PD.

The anger wavered for a split second. Then it was back. "What business is it of yours?"

"Derek Morgan, FBI," Morgan responded. The few other patrons of the restaurant had begun to inch toward the door. They didn't want to be involved. "Put your hands on top of your head, NOW!"

Morgan's gun was out, in his hands and pointing at Doug's head. He'd taken two steps back to make sure the man couldn't knock it out of his hand. Slowly, Doug moved his hands up to the top of his head. _Damn,_ he thought. _Caught all ready._

Bringing his cuffs out from the back of his belt, Morgan quickly contained the man. In the distance he could hear sirens. The Cavalry was on the way. "Where are they?" Derek demanded once he had the man secured. Roughly he turned him around. "Where are they, you son of a bitch?"

"Morgan," Garcia warned. She could see the anger percolating through the large man. She almost expected him to start wailing on the man. Not that she would blame him one little bit.

"Where?!!" Morgan caught hold of Doug by the shoulders and started to shake him. The man remained mute. The anger was quickly becoming replaced with fear. Doug didn't know what to do. He felt his brain rattle around in his head. Just as Derek was about to beat the man senseless, when the door opened and Rossi and Sheriff Hicks stepped in.

"Morgan!" Rossi said as he quickly covered the ground between them. Catching hold of Doug, he propelled the larger man toward the door and the waiting sheriff and deputies. Hicks and his men quickly escorted him toward the waiting cruiser.

"How did he get here?" Rossi asked. Without waiting for a response, he headed toward the parking lot. If they found the SUV, they might find Reid and Hotch within its confines.

"I don't know, that's what I was trying to get out of him," Morgan snapped. He was headed for the cruiser.


	9. Chapter 9

_Hello. Sorry I missed yesterday. Sometimes life just gets in the way! Thank you for all the lovely reviews!! I absolutely love them and they keep me thinking about this story. I think there are still a couple of twists and turns involved so I hope you enjoy the ride as much as I am!!_

_Thanks again._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER NINE

Part way to the cruiser, Morgan was caught by Sheriff Hicks and two of his deputies. The sheriff had recognized the look on Morgan's face and didn't want him to cause serious permanent injury to the man.

"I'm sending him to the station. You can interrogate him there or you can help with the search of the area," Hicks said as he carefully pushed the larger man back. He'd seen Doug's death in the agent's eyes.

"Give me five minutes with him, I'll find out where they are," Morgan grated through clenched teeth. He was trying to push his way to the cruiser even as the vehicle backed out of the parking lot.

"Do you want to be able to prosecute Doug once we're done?" Rossi asked as he came up behind the younger agent. He understood what was going through Morgan's mind. He understood all too well because the same thoughts were going through his own but they had to do this right. "Let the sheriff and his men work on him. We're too emotionally involved. Let's search the area. Maybe we can find them without being trapped in a room with him."

Taking a deep breath, Morgan tried to get a hold of himself. All he really wanted to do was beat the man to a pulp. But that wouldn't help matters at all. Taking another deep breath, he turned back toward Rossi.

"Garcia's all ready on the security cameras. Let's see if we can figure out how he got here," Rossi said as he led the larger man back inside.

OOOOO

"You'd better be ready to tell us what we need to know by the time we get back to the station," the deputy driving the cruiser said. He glanced in the rear view mirror to make sure Doug was listening. The man in the backseat glared at him but otherwise didn't respond.

In the rear of the cruiser, Doug was frantically trying to figure out how to get out of this. He couldn't believe that he'd walked in on the damned agent. What were the chances? Out of all the little towns around here, out of all the restaurants they all just happened to wind up at the same one. Clearly God had a sense of humour.

Then he remembered the motel key in his back pocket. If they found that they'd find his toy. They'd find out what he'd done to him. As carefully as he could, Doug slipped the key out of his pocket without drawing the attention of the deputy. He slid it between the seat cushion and the back of the seat. Hopefully no one would find it for a while. Doug was actually grateful to Morgan for overreacting. As a result, no one had taken the time to search him.

"Right now you're guilty of kidnapping and probably assault," the deputy continued from the front seat. "If either of those agents die you'll be charged with murder. Is that what you want?"

Ignoring the deputy, Doug turned and looked out the side window. Damn but he was still hungry. Maybe they'd feed him once they processed him. He'd wait until they got there to ask. At the moment, he needed to come up with a plan.

OOOOO

The first thing Reid was aware of was the fact that he was lying on something very hard. Slowly, he opened his eyes and stared at the wall of the tub. Well, that didn't make sense. Images of what had happened flashed through his mind. He almost cheered when he realized Tommy had struck out at Doug. It was almost worth finding himself chained in the bathtub. If only he weren't quite so cold, or so thirsty.

Carefully, Reid lifted his torso off the cold surface of the tub and spied over the edge, just in case Doug was still here. Finding that he was alone in the room, Reid pulled against his bonds, trying to get loose. Quickly he realized it was a waste of strength, something he didn't have a lot of. Looking above his head, Reid stared at the tub faucet. Water was so close and yet so far. With his mouth still gagged, there was no way for him to get it running. Or was there?

Reid could feel the piece of tape on the sides of his face. Looking at the edge of the tap opening, Reid pulled his protesting body toward it. Just barely he could reach it with the corner of the tape. Rubbing against it, he tried to dislodge it, to peel it back. All he really managed to do was to scrape his cheek.

Well, maybe he'd work on that later if he needed to. For the first time, Reid hoped that Doug would come back quickly. Sitting up as much as he had had left him shaking with exhaustion. Carefully, Reid settled back down in the tub. He was grateful for the towels even if they were slightly damp. At least he wasn't lying here completely naked. Closing his eyes, Reid slipped into sleep. It seemed to be the only thing he could do at the moment.

OOOOO

"He walked," Garcia announced. She had the camera feed running into her computer. The cameras were only on the outside of the building but that was all right. They could plainly see Doug appear around the front corner of the restaurant and walk toward the door.

"From which direction?" Rossi asked. The town may be small but they needed to perform the search quickly, before Mary realized her brother had been captured. He wasn't entirely sure that capturing the man the way they had was necessarily the right way to have done things. Once Garcia had recognized Doug they would have been better off to watch him and see where he'd gone but that was no longer an option.

"North," Garcia announced. She glanced up at Rossi, Morgan and Emily. They needed to get out there.

"If he was on foot then the search area should be pretty narrow. Can you pull up a map?" Morgan asked.

With a few clocking of the keys, a map of the town appeared. "How many hotels or motels are there around this area?" Rossi asked, picking up on where Morgan was going.

Within seconds ten stars appeared on the map. "Sorry," Garcia said. "It may be a small town but it has a lot of hotels and motels. Is there anything else we can use to narrow the criteria?"

"How many of them are more than one floor tall?" Emily asked. "They would need to be able to isolate themselves if they wanted to continue abusing them. If there's a chance of someone being above them, the chances of getting caught would increase."

"Are they really that smart?" Morgan asked as he watched Garcia enter that information as well.

"The last time they were smart enough to keep from getting caught. If Rachel hadn't opened that hatch, we might still be there trying to break in," Rossi stated. He'd had a few restless nights when that thought kept him awake.

"Don't exaggerate," Garcia growled. Then her face went completely red as she realized she'd just snapped at Rossi. That was the last thing she wanted to think about. They were going to find Hotch and Reid and they were going to be okay. They had to be.

"Did that reduce the number of hotels?" Emily asked, trying to change the subject.

"There are still eight of them," Garcia answered, thankful to have something else to concentrate on.

"Well, that's a start," Rossi stated, trying to hide a smile. "Let's split up. We'll each take a deputy, just in case."

OOOOO

It was his second search. Morgan was trying to fight the frustration that had been building since he'd left the restaurant. The first manager had been more than willing to let him and Deputy Cullen search each and every room. Even the tenants had been more than willing. At this motel, however, the manager was proving difficult.

"Do you have a warrant?" the man asked, his arms crossed over his chest. He'd all ready pulled the registration cards behind the counter, preventing either man from looking at them.

"We don't have time for a warrant," Morgan said for the second time. "There are two FBI agents missing. We have one of the two kidnappers in custody. We know they are in this town. Will you please let us search your cabins?"

"I can't do that. Not without a warrant," the manager stated. "My business depends on my ability to be discrete. If I let anyone search without a warrant, I won't be able to rent another room."

"You do realize that the agents' lives are in danger, right?" Morgan pressed. While the man was well within his rights, Morgan had hoped he'd be more compliant. Behind him, he could feel Cullen shifting around anxiously.

"I'm very sorry to hear that, sir. It doesn't change the facts, however," the manager stated.

"Can you at least tell us if you recognize this man?" Cullen asked as he slid a picture of Doug toward the man over the counter.

"No, I don't," the manager said dismissively. "I can also tell you that none of the cabins have been rented by a group of four people. Now, will you leave?"

"How many of them are rented?" Morgan asked.

"I can't tell you that," the manager stated. He was back into the defensive mode.

Anger boiled over. Derek pulled the pictures of Reid and Hotch out and placed them on top of the counter. "These are the two agents that are missing. If anything happens to them because you refused to help, I'm going to come back here and make sure you know. Is that something you can live with? Knowing you are responsible for the death or injury of two agents?" he asked his voice dangerously low.

"I'm sorry," the manager stated. "I don't recognize them either. As far as being responsible, I didn't hurt them."

Growling under his breath, Morgan pulled the photos back, turned around and left. Once he was outside, he struck a wooden post just outside the door before heading to the nearest cabin. He might not be able to search the inside but he was going to make sure there were no SUV's parked in front of the cabins. It was all he was able to do with the manager not cooperative.

Catching on to what Morgan was going to do, Cullen moved behind the office and started with the furthest cabin. There were no vehicles parked out front but a 'do not disturb' sign hung on the door knob. Circling the one story building, he peered in the windows he could only to find that they were covered with curtains. Whoever was inside didn't want the outside world peering in. While that was consistent with Mary and Doug, it was also consistent of every clandestine meeting of a john and a prostitute. Coming back to the door, Cullen looked at the parking lot, hoping to find tracks. There were none. Disappointed, he headed to the next one.

By the time the two men checked each of the cabins, as best they could from the outside, the sun was beginning to go down. Somewhat despondent, Morgan climbed into the driver's side of the SUV and waited for Cullen to join him. He pulled his cell out, planning on making a call only to find that he had no service. Then Cullen climbed into the vehicle and they headed out.

OOOOO

They'd been driving all day, or so Hotch assumed. He kept going in and out of consciousness. He wasn't sure if it was because he was dehydrated, malnourished or simply in too much pain. All three were possibilities at the moment. He awoke to find that he was still in the back of the SUV, lying under the blanket. His body was protesting being left in his current position for far too long but he didn't have enough room or strength to do anything about it.

Beyond the blanket the world was getting darker. Had they really been travelling for that long? How far away from Reid were they now? The second thing Hotch became aware of was that they were no longer moving. Then there was the sound of a car door opening and slamming shut.

Cool air rushed into the rear of the vehicle, instantly chilling the all ready suffering Hotch. A hand ran from his knee up to his hip. Instinctively Hotch tried to pull away only to find he couldn't. A soft chuckle emanated from above him. Then the hand slipped down to brush against his crotch. Pain flashed through him, taking his breath away.

"That's going to be a problem," Mary's voice stated just before the blanket was pulled down to reveal his head. Reaching behind Hotch's back, Mary released the catch on the rear seat back and pushed the seat forward, giving them more room. Once she got the seat down, she climbed into the back of the SUV, pulling the hatch closed behind her.

They were in a small roadside turn off. It was completely surrounded by trees and had a few clear spots to pull vehicles into. While camping over night wasn't encouraged, there was a pair of outhouses in the rear part of the turn off, just in case. With the doors closed, the inside of the vehicle was dark. No one should notice it, tucked in amongst the trees.

While Hotch was still stunned, Mary pulled him a little bit straighter so she had a bit more room. Listening to Hotch pant through his nose while the pain in his groin slowly abated, Mary pulled her clothes off and slid underneath the blanket. If anyone did bother to stop and look, not likely at this time of the year, they would think they were just a couple playing around under the covers. Just what she wanted.

Naked with the man for the very first time, Mary pressed her breasts and groin against Hotch, revelling in the sensation of being this close to a beautiful man. A man kept motionless by being bound, completely at her mercy. Now, that thought really turned her on. Another thought occurred to her. Giving in to it, she pulled the gag out of Hotch's mouth, shimmied up and thrust his face into her chest.

"I want you to make love to them," Mary purred as she moved her breasts against his stubbly face. The man really did need a shave. She allowed Hotch a few moments for the shock of her hitting him the groin to wear off but still there was no response. Looking down, she forced Hotch's mouth open and stuck her nipple into it. "Make love to me or else."

Lying perfectly still, Hotch tried to not wretch. He could feel the woman's flesh in his mouth but had no desire to do anything about it. Even if he didn't have burning pain in his groin, it still wouldn't be an option. He left his mouth open, trying to keep his lips as far from the woman's flesh as possible.

"Remember, this is your fault," Mary whispered. She slipped a hand behind his back, ran it up between his buttocks and thrust three fingers inside. Hotch stiffened as the pain registered, which just excited Mary more as she ground herself against his arching groin. Unconsciously, Hotch's mouth closed around the woman's nipple, sending another thrill through her system. Moaning with pleasure, Mary dug her fingers in just a little bit further.

Curling her neck, Mary brought her lips beside Hotch's ear. "You give me what I want and I'll leave you alone for the night," she whispered her voice husky with lust.

Hotch didn't respond. He'd all ready been raped brutally once. Another time was somewhat anticlimactic, especially since Mary just didn't have the equipment. He stiffened again as Mary forced her fingers a little bit deeper.

"Please stop," Hotch heard himself say. Shame burned through him. How could he beg the woman to stop? He knew it wouldn't make any difference. She was going to do whatever she wanted irregardless of his preferences.

"Oh, that's sweet," Mary whispered as her fingers splayed slightly, adding to the pain in Hotch's back end. It was almost worse than being raped, almost. He could feel the tender tissue in his body being damaged by her too long nails. "Do it again."

Hotch wanted to, with all of his remaining logic he knew it would be the fastest way to end the pain. But he was too stubborn to do it again. Once was enough. He wasn't going to let her hear him beg again.

"Ah, that's no fun," Mary purred. She pulled her fingers out of him. She had the feeling he was going numb anyway. There was only so much pain you could cause an area continuously before the mind shut down the receptors. Bringing her fingers around, she shoved them into Hotch's mouth so he could taste his own blood and other juices.

Gagging, Hotch tried to pull away only to find he had nowhere to go. He turned his head toward the floor. It made him feel weak but it was better than throwing up again. He couldn't afford to lose more fluids.

Mary wrapped her legs around Hotch's legs, pulling him further against her pubic region. The pain this caused finished Hotch's ability to control his body. Bile came up and pooled beside his face.

"That' s disgusting," Mary growled as she pulled away from him. The smell in the small area was nearly overpowering. She opened the back door and climbed out. Rather than stand there naked, she pulled the blanket off Hotch and wrapped it around her shoulders. Going around to the front door, she pulled out one of her shirts and a bottle of water and proceeded to clean up the mess Hotch had made. As she finished, she looked down in his brown eyes and relented. Rolling him onto his back, she lifted his head up and poured some water into his parched mouth.

Half a bottle later, she took it away from him. She knew enough not to give him too much. The last thing she needed was for him to upchuck again. Mary put the cap back on the bottle as Hotch collapsed, breathing like a locomotive.

"Now that you've been watered, it's time for you to pay up," Mary said she pulled the door closed again. Pulling the blanket out from under her, she shook it out overtop of both of them. She resumed her position with her chest hanging in Hotch's face. She'd left him on his back, his hands trapped underneath him. That worked for her. She didn't have much but she dangled it in front of Hotch's face. "You do what I want or I'll punish you."

"I don't think you can do anything else to me," Hotch managed as he carefully looked at her face. The rest of her body didn't intrigue him at all. He could feel her wetness against his brand. Not a good thing, he needed to keep the damn thing clean, somehow he didn't think vaginal juices were in the clean category.

"Oh, you'd be surprised what I'm capable of," Mary purred. Moving down, she straddled Hotch's thighs. Twisting around, she picked up her pants and pulled a jack knife out of the back pocket. Flipping it open, she pressed it against Hotch's swollen scrotum. "If you don't do what I want, I'm going to cut one of them off."


	10. Chapter 10

_Hello!!! I'm sorry this is so short but I wanted to get something out tonight. I hope you enjoy it!!_

_Susanne_

_Warning: Sexual abuse in later paragraphs. Be warned even though it's not particularly graphic in nature!!_

CHAPTER TEN

Unbelievably thirsty, Reid tried again to the pull the tape off his mouth only to find he was too weak. Slumping back down into the bottom of the tub, Reid tried to catch his breath. It was getting harder to breath just through his nose. Also, the damp towels were sapping what little warmth he had very quickly.

How long was Doug going to be gone? How long had it been? Reid didn't know. He wasn't sure if he'd been conscious the whole time or not. Lying in the bottom of the tub he felt very young, very vulnerable.

Knowing that they were in big trouble, Tommy carefully moved Reid to the back so he could take charge. Shimmying his body as close to the tap as he could within the confines of the ropes, Tommy rubbed his cheek against the bottom edge of the spout. It cut his cheek slightly but he ignored it. Behind him he could hear the others clamouring to be set free but that was Reid's decision. Things had to be bad for him to let Tommy out. Things would have to get a lot worse before the others were needed.

As Tommy continued to rub against the spout, he felt the small, shallow cuts accumulate. Then, finally, he felt the tape pull away. Carefully he pulled enough of it off that he was able to spit the gag out. Relief flowed through him. But that was the easy part. Moving as far up as he could, Tommy managed to wrap his cracking lips around the faucet and push it up. Glorious water trickled out. Wrapping his lips around the spout, Tommy drank until he threw up.

Suddenly aware of the presence of water, Reid came to the front again. He didn't know why he hadn't been able to do it himself but he was very grateful that Tommy had done it, despite the pain in his cheek from getting the tape off. Carefully, he drank two mouthfuls, tainted with his own blood. Settling down, Reid waited to see if that would stay before taking more. The good thing about the water still running was that it washed away where he'd thrown up. The bad thing was that his hair was getting wet with the spray the dribbling water kicked up as it hit the bottom of the tub. He decided though, that being wet and cold was better than dying of dehydration.

OOOOO

The police station was a hive of activity. The small building was used to having six officers on at the same time. At the moment that number had more than doubled with the presence of the BAU members. The search of the local motels/hotels was done. There had been three managers that had refused to cooperate unless they saw a warrant. Unfortunately, the local judge refused to issue warrants on the basis of a hope. If they wanted to finish the searches, they'd have to come up with concrete proof first.

Sitting in a chair, staring at the victim board, Morgan tried to keep from jumping up and rampaging into the interview room just a few short yards away. Doug was cuffed to the table in there. He had been for the last few hours. The sheriff's men hadn't gotten anything from him. His leg vibrating like a jack hammer, Morgan simply sat and stared. It seemed to be all he was capable at the moment.

"The sheriff has decided to let us try our hand at interrogating Doug," Rossi stated as he came up on the younger agent. He'd seen the leg, he knew the man was full of pent up energy. Derek was not the right choice for this job. Not that he had considered letting him do it anyway. "You watch from the outside, see if I miss any cues, etc."

"I want to go in there," Derek growled.

"I know you do but I don't think it'll be a good idea. I need you and Emily observing. I'm too emotionally involved in this too," Rossi stated. Getting a grudging nod from Morgan, he headed for the closed door of the interrogation room. On his way he paused to pick up two bottles of water.

Upon entering the room the first think Rossi noticed was that Doug seemed to be perfectly at ease. Not what he'd expected. Doug was lounging back in the chair, one hand behind his head, the other resting on the table.

"I'm Supervisory Special Agent David Rossi. Are you thirsty?" Rossi asked as he took the chair across from him.

Doug just looked at him, a small smile on his face, like he knew a secret and was dying to tell someone. Rossi just hoped he would tell them where Hotch and Reid are.

"You know why you're here, right?" Rossi asked. He needed to get the man talking even if it wasn't about the subjects Rossi wanted to discuss. He had to start somewhere.

"I'm hungry," Doug stated as he sat forward in his chair, resting his hands on top of the table, his fingers interlaced. "When am I going to get some food?"

"I'd like to get some information from you first," Rossi responded as he mirrored the man.

"Refusing to feed a prisoner. Isn't that against the Geneva Convention or something?" Doug asked, the smirk back.

"You're not a prisoner at the moment," Rossi said.

"Then I can walk out the door right now?" Doug asked. He didn't move, however, he knew it wasn't going to be that easy.

"You are wanted for questioning in the disappearance of two FBI agents. You are also wanted on charges of unlawful confinement and rape. I don't think you're going to be leaving any time soon," Rossi stated.

"Then throw me in a cell and give me some food. I have nothing to say to you."

Just as Rossi was about to reach across and smash the man's face into the table, a deputy knocked on the door and walked in. "I have something to show you," the man said.

Frustrated at being interrupted and by the fact that he wasn't making any headway, Rossi gritted his teeth. Standing up, he moved to the back of the room. The deputy held out an evidence bag for him to examine. Inside he found a room key with the number one on it. "I found it between the seats of my cruiser," the deputy said, his voice very quiet. "I check it every time I transport a prisoner, just in case."

For the first time in what felt like forever, Rossi felt some of the weight of the world lift off his shoulders. "Don't go anywhere," Rossi sent over his shoulder as he followed the deputy out of the room. They had the evidence they needed to get the search warrants. Even though the key didn't have the name of a motel/hotel on it, its mere presence should be enough to get them the warrants.

OOOOO

"You can threaten me but it still won't give you what you want," Hotch said. He could feel the blade pressing against his skin. "I'm too badly damaged to do what you want."

"I don't believe you," Mary hissed as she pressed just a little bit harder. Hotch closed his eyes as he rode the wave of pain this caused. "You're going to make love to me or I'm going to make it so you can never do it again. With anyone."

For a few moments all Hotch could hear was the pulsing of blood in his ears as the pain overwhelmed him. How had he been reduced to this? He wondered. Images of his childhood, of Haley and Jack flashed through his mind. It helped to ease the pain. But it also left him fighting a black depression. How much more of this was he supposed to take?

"I can't," Hotch breathed when he could talk again. He kept his eyes closed. He didn't want to look at the woman and the lust in her eyes. The very thought of it turned his stomach to ice.

"We'll see about that," Mary growled. She left the blade where it was but leaned down over his groin. It had worked once before. She was more than willing to try it again. Kissing him, she worked at making him hard.

Hotch considered struggling but quickly realized he didn't have the strength. He hissed in pain as Mary ran her tongue over his brand. A moan escaped as she began sucking on it. This only seemed to excite her as Mary prodded, sucked, licked and otherwise tried to stimulate him. All she did was send more pain shooting through Hotch's over stimulated pain receptors.

Moans, groans and grunts issued from his lips but he was completely unaware of it. All he felt was pain, exhaustion and a mild sense of suffocating. Bile rose and spilled out of his mouth. Mary ignored it as she continued her attack of his genitals. Unable to stand it anymore, Mary pulled the knife out from between Hotch's legs and straddled his hips.

Wild with lust, she caught hold of him and thrust him into her, sending yet more pain rocketing through his mind and body. Then she was rocking, moaning and groaning in pleasure. Her eyes were closed and her hands traveled over her breasts as she relished the sensations travelling through her. The pain kept Hotch from being completely aware of his surroundings. He just knew that she was doing something and it didn't feel good.

Breathing harder, Mary leaned forward, pulling him with her and pressed her breast against his mouth. She didn't even care that he didn't do anything with it just the feel of his lips was enough to send her over the edge. Shrieking, she pumped harder and harder as the orgasm rocked her body. Hotch felt like he was under water. Everything was moving slowly and he couldn't seem to pull in a full breath.

Not satisfied, Mary continued her onslaught, wanting to climax yet again. The pain amplifying yet again, Hotch passed out. It was the only thing his mind could think to do to protect him. Once he was unconscious, Mary got what she wanted. Howling like a banshee, she shuddered as her body climaxed yet again. Exhausted, she collapsed over top of the man's body, content for the moment.

Stretching luxuriously, Mary took the time to clean up after Hotch. She pulled the blanket up over top of both of them and snuggled in as close to him as she could get. It was almost like having a real lover. Although she wished he could be a little more involved. It wasn't as much fun that he had to be unconscious for him to respond to her and climax. But she would take what she could get. If they stayed together long enough maybe he'd learn to love her and this wouldn't all be such a chore. Maybe. Smiling happily, she allowed herself to fall asleep. There was always tomorrow


	11. Chapter 11

_I'm sorry that this is so short. It's the right place to stop this chapter though. Muhhhahah. I hope you enjoy the chapter as much as I did writing it!! _

_Thank you as always for all the lovely reviews! They certainly help to keep my head in this story._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER ELEVEN

Two hours later Hotch came around. He was in more pain that he could imagine anyone surviving. It made it really hard to concentrate on anything but trying to breathe. Still, he took stock of his situation in slow, painful increments. His hands were cuffed together behind his back. There wasn't anything he could do about that. His feet were tied together with rope. That was something he might be able to deal with. Mary was sleeping with her head on his left shoulder. The last thing he wanted to do was to wake her up. Who knew what new horrors she had planned for him?

Oh so gently, Hotch pulled first one leg and then the other up, just a few inches, trying to loosen the rope tied around them. He was very careful not to jostle himself, the pain would probably knock him out again. He was also very careful not to waken Mary. But gradually he pulled his feet apart and the rope fell away. His skin covered in a thin sheet of sweat, Hotch slowly but carefully started pulling his shoulder out from under Mary's head.

He needed to get out of here, of that Hotch was sure. Where he was going to go dressed in a filthy pair of boxer shorts and his hands handcuffed behind his back was part of the plan he hadn't quite worked out yet. Once he got his shoulder free, Hotch worked on getting away from the woman. Just the touch of her skin was enough to bring bile into his throat again. It was becoming an automatic reflex whenever the woman was too close to him. Hotch didn't want it to continue.

Moving slowly, he inched his way toward the rear of the compartment. Hotch's muscles were beginning to tremble with fatigue. He hadn't done this much moving around in too long. Crouching put pressure on parts of his body that he didn't want to put pressure on but he managed to keep from making a sound until he reached the release for the rear door.

As carefully and as quietly as he could, Hotch released the door and fell backward into the cool night air. As he lost sight of Mary he was hoping the woman wouldn't notice the cool air infusing the compartment. Falling onto the gravel, Hotch had to lie still for a few moments, to get his breath back. Staring up at the open hatch of the SUV, Hotch fully expected Mary's head to appear, her face twisted in anger.

The seconds ticked by while Hotch tried to recover enough strength to do what else needed to be done. Gradually he pulled his boxers back up to where they belonged, hissing quietly against the pain that ensured. Then he carefully pulled his protesting body up to his feet, bracing himself against the side of the SUV. As quietly as possible, he pressed the hatch closed with his shoulder.

It was cold out. Hotch had all ready begun to tremble with the cold air assaulting his damp, too exposed skin. Looking around, he realized they were in a turn out. All around him was darkness, the swaying of leaves and the creaking of branches. The wind blowing across his sweaty skin made it that much colder. Listening beyond the sounds from the trees, Hotch thought he heard vehicles moving by at high speed. They weren't that far away from the highway.

Staggering over the gravel in his bare feet, Hotch stumbled through some low branches, trying to put something between him and the SUV before he broke in the direction of the sounds. Hopefully, help would be just a few yards away. He wasn't sure how passersby would respond to a mostly naked, wild looking man trying to wave them down but he had faith that someone would stop. Gritting his teeth against the pain and the cold, he continued on. The only thing that would stop him at this point was Mary.

OOOOO

The judge wasn't thrilled about giving the law enforcement officers three search warrants to the motels/hotels. He wanted them to find out before which hotel the key belonged to. While Rossi and Derek understood the man's caution, it was extremely frustrating.

So, Emily, Rossi and Derek each set out in the direction of the three uncooperative businesses, a photocopy of the key in their hands. Each of them had a deputy sitting beside them in the vehicle and a cruiser bringing up the rear, just in case.

Pulling up in front of the motel he'd all ready checked with Deputy Cullen, Morgan threw the vehicle into park and practically flew out of the door. It was one o'clock in the morning. Hopefully the man from before was off shift. Morgan wasn't sure if he could handle dealing with him without pounding him to a pulp.

Morgan opened the door to the office and was relieved to find a younger man standing behind the counter. Quickly, he held out his credentials.

"Special Agent Derek Morgan, FBI. I need to ask you one question," Morgan stated.

"Okay," the young man responded, shock and fear flashing across his face. He was mesmerized by the badge in Morgan's hand. Pulling the photocopy out of his back pocket, Morgan placed it down on the counter.

"Is this one of your keys?" Derek asked. It took the clerk a few moments to look from his badge down to the piece of paper. Picking it up, the clerk moved over to behind a wall two feet away.

"Yeah," the clerk's disembodied voice responded. "Cabin one is rented out until tomorrow. The keys are gone."

"We need to examine this room. Will you let us go inside without waiting for a warrant?" Morgan asked. He was all ready reaching for his cell phone, to call Rossi, Emily and Sheriff Hicks. They needed to get the warrant in the works, irregardless.

"I'm really sorry," the clerk responded, looking genuinely contrite. "My boss told me that I wasn't allowed until you actually had the warrant in my hand. Even then I'm supposed to call him before I let you in."

"There may be two federal agents dying in that cabin. Are you willing to live with that on your conscience?" one of the deputies asked. Morgan had moved away and was speaking rapidly in his phone.

"I'm really, really sorry. I want to let you do that but I'd lose my job. I have a pregnant girlfriend to support," the clerk said, his voice pleading with them to understand.

"The warrant is on the way," Morgan announced. He neglected to mention that several more cruisers were also on the way, as well as two ambulances.

"There, it's on the way," the deputy pressed.

"I'll call my boss. He'll be mad that I don't have it in my hand but it'll cut down on some time," the clerk said as he picked up the phone.

Frustrated, Morgan made his way to the cabin. He wanted to get in there as soon as the warrant was on the premises. He moved around the outside of the cabin, pacing, waiting for the damned paperwork.

OOOOO

Reid was cold. He'd stopped shaking five minutes ago. He was finding it very hard to stay awake but he knew if he fell asleep he might never wake up. Hypothermia was taking effect. He'd dealt with one danger, dehydration, only to run smack dab into another one.

He contemplated turning the tap off but Reid didn't have the strength. The shivering his body had been doing to maintain his core body temperature had zapped every ounce of strength he'd had. In his mind, Reid could hear Tommy trying to keep him awake. Behind him the others were continuing to clamour but he wasn't going to let them lose. Tommy had been a help, as he usually was. The others tended to create chaos.

Dimly, Reid became aware of someone stomping around on the outside wall of the bathroom. While he hoped desperately it wasn't Doug, he also hoped desperately that it was. He wasn't sure how long he was going to be able to survive in the cold, wet bathtub. Licking his lips, Reid tried to call out for help. No sound came.

Relentlessly, Reid's eyelids slid shut. He tried to force them open again. There wasn't enough energy left in his body. Reid fell asleep.


	12. Chapter 12

_Thank you yet again for all the reviews!!! I'm glad you like what I'm doing. Unfortunately, though, it appears that the sexual abuse will be at an end. But don't worry, neither man is safe quite yet. There will still be plenty of chances for angst and dreams. Yeah, I like torturing them just a little too much. ;)_

_Enjoy the new chapter!! Let me know what you think._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWELVE

His feet on fire, Hotch struggled through the dense underbrush. He felt safer knowing that Mary wouldn't be able to see him immediately after climbing out of the SUV. Unfortunately, though, it meant he couldn't see much of anything either. He kept stubbing his toes on things and stepping on too large rocks. By now he was sure his feet were bleeding and most definitely bruised.

In front of him, Hotch could just make out the sounds of the highway. For a split second, between the trees, he could occasionally make out the lights of a passing car but he wasn't close enough to signal anyone. Not without getting Mary's attention. So long as he was still mobile, Hotch wasn't willing to take the chance.

Stumbling forward, Hotch's right foot caught in a tree root and sent him crashing to the ground. Without his hands to break his fall, Hotch went face first into the dirt. For a few minutes of stunned silence, Hotch simply lay there, trying to get his breath and strength back while blood pounded in his ears. The longer he lay, the wetter his chest and legs were getting. Apparently it had rained in this area recently. The ground was wet and a little slick with mud.

As carefully as he could, Hotch rolled over onto his side and struggled to gain his feet. It was harder than he'd ever imagined. Between his complete lack of strength and not being able to use his arms, he felt like a new born. Eventually, though, Hotch managed to regain his feet. Breathing heavily, he continued on. The highway had to be getting closer, he was sure of it.

By the time he broke free of the trees, Hotch was nearly on his knees. If he'd had the use of his arms, he would have crawled. At this point though, falling meant getting caught again. That wasn't something he was willing to consider. Getting down into the bottom of the ditch was the easy part, staying upright not so easy. Then he had to climb up the other side where the angle was steeper and the grass slippery.

Desperately, Hotch glanced up and down the road. Nothing. No help was coming from either direction. The asphalt was dark with moisture but there were no pockets of water. Finally reaching the edge of the shoulder, Hotch slumped toward his knees. He had no more strength left. As he fell, the FBI Unit Chief's knees slid out from under him and his head hit the asphalt with a resounding crack. Darkness descended.

OOOOO

Sheriff Hicks pulled up in his cruiser. He was working with the local law enforcement division because of his experience with the unsubs. Besides, he didn't want to leave the FBI agents alone until he knew that everyone was safe and accounted for. He had the local sheriff in his vehicle and the signed warrant in the other man's hand.

Quickly they bound out of the cruiser and headed for the rather irate manager standing outside the office. The night clerk was hovering in the background, trying to stay out of trouble. Behind him, Hicks heard Rossi and Emily pull up.

"Here's the damned warrant," the local sheriff hissed as he thrust the document in the manager's hands. "Now open the damned cabin."

"Now, just wait a minute here, I need to have a chance to read this before I start opening up cabins," the manager sputtered as he tried to read the document in the dark.

"So help me, Darry Wilson. If you don't open that door right this minute, I'm going to authorize my men to break it down. The choice is yours," the local sheriff growled. He knew the man all too well. He could be a real pain in the ass.

"You wouldn't dare," Darry stated, looking at the sheriff in disbelief.

"Try me," the sheriff growled. "You've wasted far too much of our time all ready today."

Rossi and Emily came up to stand behind the two sheriffs. They could feel the tension in the air but weren't entirely sure what was causing it. Mutely, the manager headed into the office, got the master key and led the way to the cabin. Hopefully no one was sleeping too deeply in there.

Leading the procession, the manager muttered under his breath. Stopping in front of the door, he fingered the 'do not disturb' sign before slipping the key into the lock. Before he even had the chance to step inside the room, Morgan, Rossi and Emily pushed him aside, their guns drawn and flashlights out.

Quickly, they scanned the inside of the room, taking in the dishevelled appearance of the beds. Morgan was the first one at the bathroom door. It was closed. Waiting for Emily to take a position on the other side, Morgan brought his leg up and kicked the door in.

The room was dark. Using his flashlight, Morgan scanned the nearest wall and made his way around. The beam came to rest on a huddled shape under several white hotel towels. A low moan issued from somewhere within the mound.

"Reid?" Morgan breathed as he raced forward. Behind him, he heard Rossi and Emily bringing up the rear. Quickly he pulled the towels off, trying to reach the person underneath. The too thin body was cold as ice. At the faucet end of the tub he found a too familiar brown head of hair, soaked to the bone.

"Reid?" Morgan repeated. Gently, he felt for a pulse. He was gratified to find one but he knew immediately that Reid was in the throes of hypothermia. Flinging the damp towels off of Reid's body, ignoring the fact that he was naked underneath them, Morgan cut through the ropes with a pocket knife he kept on his belt. "Come on, man, don't give up on me."

Rossi called for the medical personnel while Morgan finished releasing him from his bindings. Knowing he should leave the younger man where he found him, Morgan pulled him out of the tub onto his lap and wrapped his arms protectively around the young genius. Prentiss was there, wrapping two blankets around the small, cold body. Even after being released from the tub, Reid had maintained his fetal position. At the moment, it felt like Morgan was holding a child. It was very disconcerting.

The medics crowded into the small room. Rossi and Emily were hovering on Morgan's right while the medics were on his left. On his lap was a human sized ice cube. The first medic, Roy, wanted to take Reid away from him but Morgan just glared at him. He'd found Reid. He wasn't taking the chance of losing him again.

"I need to be able to check his life signs," Roy said, looking at the older agent. It was a touching scene, the larger man comforting the smaller man in his lap but it made examining Spencer a lot more difficult.

"I'm not letting go," Morgan grated. He looked at his fellow agents. Both were pale, fear and concern warring on their faces. He held Reid a little bit closer and pulled the blankets a little bit tighter.

"Please, I understand your concern," Roy pressed. Johnny was hovering behind him but there wasn't enough room for him to reach the patient too. He had one hand on the gurney. The other held the drug box. They needed to get the kid on the gurney where they would have more room to work. "But you aren't doing him any favours at the moment. We need to take care of him. Please let us."

His chin resting on Reid's wet hair, Morgan looked at the older paramedic. The sympathy in the man's blue eyes finally convinced him it was okay. Reluctantly, he picked Reid up and carried him over to the gurney. With all the care he would have treated a Ming vase Morgan laid Reid's unconscious body down on the bed. He looked so damned young and small. Gulping back tears, Morgan stepped back. Instantly, the two paramedics descended.

Emily and Rossi moved up behind Morgan. All three of them took in the condition of Reid's battered body as the medics worked on him. The deputies were outside. Now that the scene was secure, they'd decided to give the agents some privacy.

"What the hell did he do to him?" Morgan growled through clenched teeth. He felt the need to beat the crap out of someone, anyone, anything to relieve the overpowering rage filling his mind and soul. Turning from his friend, Morgan put his fist into the wall.

"Does that make you feel better?" Emily asked. She couldn't take her eyes off Reid's too still, white face. Roy was placing an oxygen mask over his nose and mouth. Johnny had a BP cuff around his bicep, checking his life signs.

"No. It should be Doug's face," Morgan responded as he turned to look at Reid again. The bastard was going to pay.

OOOOO

The world was muffled. Sounds and light muted. The only thing Hotch knew for sure was that he hurt like hell. The pain was so bad he couldn't think straight.

"Is he alive?" The voice sounded like it was a hundred miles away. Even concentrating Hotch couldn't tell if it was from a man or woman. He felt like he was underwater, looking up at an overcast sky through a pin hole.

"Barely." Another voice. Gender unknown.

"What do we do with him?" The first voice. Of that he was fairly sure.

"We could leave him here. Do you think someone else will bother to stop and check on him?" There was sarcasm in the second voice. Now Hotch thought it might come from a woman but he couldn't be sure.

"I was just asking. Okay, let's get him into the back seat." Gentle hands slipped under his arm pits. As soon as his rescuers tried to lift him, however, every ache and pain in Hotch's body was reawakened. A loud moan and Hotch gave in to the darkness. He wasn't sure how much more he could take but there was one thing he knew for sure. Neither of the voices had belonged to Mary.

OOOOO

Banging woke Mary up. Stirring happily, she reached over to touch her toy. It wasn't there. The banging resounded again. It was coming from the front driver's side window. The rear windows of the SUV were tinted. Pulling the blanket over her naked body, Mary looked around again. Where the hell had he gone?

"Excuse me!" a male voice followed by more pounding. "There is no camping allowed at the rest stop."

Climbing over the seats, Mary settled into the driver's seat, her most dazzling smile plastered on her lips. Turning the key to auxiliary, Mary rolled down the foggy window to find a very attractive young State Trooper standing just outside the door.

"I'm sorry, officer. I had no idea. I was just so tired that I needed to sleep for just a little while. I'll get dressed and be on my way," Mary said as she let the blanket covering her shoulder slip down to reveal a good portion of her breast. Just in case the man was interested. It wouldn't be quite as much fun as Hotchner but it would be kind of nice to have a willing participant for once too.

"I'm sorry, Ma'am. I'm going to have to insist that you leave ASAP. Please take the time to dress first though. I don't want to have to cite you for 'indecent exposure'," the Trooper stated carefully ignoring the woman's exposed shoulder. Damn but some people had no sense of decency.

"Of course, officer, just give me a minute or two and I'll be gone," Mary stated, still flashing a glorious smile. Underneath the surface, though, she was frantic. Where the hell had Hotchner gone? How had she not noticed him getting out of the back of the SUV? Damn, damn, damn.

"I'll be back here in fifteen minutes. You'd better be gone," the Trooper instructed. "Ma'am." Tipping his hat at the woman, he headed back to his cruiser. So far the day was showing indications of being a real pain in the ass. Sighing, he climbed into his car and headed out. The image of the woman's flesh sent shivers of revulsion through him. Damn cougar.

Watching the Trooper drive away, Mary fumed. Once she was sure he was gone, she rolled the window back up, climbed into the back and pulled her clothes on. Still fuming, Mary released the hatch and stepped out into the cool morning air. The sky was overcast, showing signs of rain in the distance. Scanning the ground outside the hatch, Mary saw tracks. Well, at least he would be easy to follow.

"I'm going to make you regret trying to get away, you son of a bitch," Mary raved under her breath as she followed the signs. "I'm going to make you wish you were never born."


	13. Chapter 13

_Hello. I know. I said I wouldn't update this for a couple of days BUT it won't leave me alone. ;) By the way, my niece and great niece are doing very well! The baby is perfect and beautiful but then, all of them are, aren't they? Thank you to my reviews of Mary's Revenge for your kind words. I really appreciated them._

_Ok, onto the story. Yes, this is a little short. I'll try to do better next time. Also, I'm not sure if this is accurate, as far as the Trooper getting updates over his computer, but it works for me. I hope you agree._

_Lastly, I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I'll update soon, honest!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

Ten minutes later and Mary was no closer to finding Hotch. She'd followed the tracks to the edge of the asphalt. Then they just stopped. Damn, damn, damn. Looking in both directions, Mary found nothing but a deserted highway. Still cursing ceaselessly, Mary retraced her steps. She needed to be gone before the trooper came back. But she needed to find someplace nearby to stash her vehicle so she could take up the search again.

Climbing into the front seat of the SUV, Mary made the engine roar as she spun her way out of the rest area. Damn, damn, damn.

OOOOO

On his way back to the rest area, the trooper's computer beeped. He was getting the morning updates. Glancing at the screen as he drove, he saw a very familiar face looking back at him. Shit! Flicking on his flashers, the trooper sped up as he got on the radio. He'd just let the woman go.

OOOOO

The ride to the hospital was made mostly in silence. Johnny was driving. Roy was in the back, carefully monitoring Reid's life signs while he cleaned up his thigh. He tried to ignore the hulking presence of Morgan. He had hold of Reid's nearest hand and refused to move. He wasn't letting Reid out of his sight. Not ever again.

Behind the ambulance, a procession of official vehicles followed. Immediately behind it were Emily and Rossi. They too didn't want to let their younger associate out of their sight. Garcia and J.J. were on their way from the police station.

"I can't believe another human being could do that to Reid," Emily stated in the silence of the vehicle. She couldn't get the images of Reid's tortured body out of her mind. Despite everything she'd seen as a member of the BAU, she still couldn't fathom anyone wanting to hurt the young genius.

"We've seen worse," Rossi stated. He too was running the images through his mind, trying to generate a profile based on what they knew so far. All he wound up with was a sour feeling in his stomach.

"That doesn't make me feel better," Emily responded. Through the windows in the back of the ambulance, she could see Morgan sitting beside Reid, clutching the younger man's hand. She wasn't even sure if Morgan was aware of what he was doing. It gave her some solace to know that Reid wasn't alone.

"We need to find Hotch," Rossi stated. When they'd left the cabin the CSI's had moved in to collect samples. He was certain they'd find evidence of Hotch in the room as well. They'd been too late. Whether Hotch had been in the cabin the first time Morgan had been there or not was irrelevant. Rossi was sure he'd been there at some point. That gave them more than they'd had that morning but it still felt like a defeat.

"I know. We need to deal with Reid first. Once he wakes up he might have something to tell us that'll help," Emily said. She knew it was a long shot but until Reid was safe and cared for Emily wasn't willing to think about anything else.

"Let's hope so. Otherwise we may have to consider an alternative weapon," Rossi said. Heaving a frustrated sigh, he concentrated on not being left behind. Johnny the paramedic was driving like a mad man.

OOOOO

"Come on, Reid. Wake up," Morgan was saying quietly. Roy was working on the young profiler. He'd placed two IV's, one in each arm, and was feeding through warm saline solution. It was in an effort to deal with the mild dehydration he'd diagnosed and the hypothermia. He'd cleaned the gash on Reid's thigh and placed a clean pressure bandage on it. The other wounds he'd noticed would have to wait until they reached the hospital. He'd let the doctors deal with them because the dehydration and hypothermia were of primary consideration at the moment.

The big FBI agent had refused to let go of his partner. Roy understood the sentiment and chose to work around him. If anything had happened to Johnny, he wouldn't let go of him either. Instead, he concentrated on treating things as they came up. It was a long ride to the hospital, despite Johnny's driving.

OOOOO

"Are we going to take him to the hospital?" Hotch was only vaguely aware of the voice as it floated back toward him over the front seat. He was cold and in pain. Nothing else really seemed to matter that much at the moment. When he tried to open his eyes the world swayed drunkenly and bile rose in his throat. Quickly he slammed them shut again. He hadn't even had time to realize the world beyond his eyes was dark and blurry again.

"Oh, yeah, Michael would love that, wouldn't he?" the second voice stated. There was no malice in either voice. That was comforting.

"He'll love it even more if we take this guy to the compound without warning him first," the voice stated.

"What's the other option? Dropping him off on the side of the road and hoping someone finds him?" spoke the second voice. The longer he listened to it, even from a distance, Hotch came to realize it was probably a woman. The first one seemed to be a woman as well. Amid the turmoil in his mind, though, he honestly wasn't sure. Slowly he became aware that he was lying on his bad side. No wonder the pain was so bad. Under all the dirt and filth, the women hadn't noticed his injuries.

Groaning loudly, Hotch tried to move. All he managed to do was increase the pain he was in. Darkness descended again.

"Is he awake?" Amanda asked as she glanced at the man from the driver's seat. Under other circumstances the man would have been incredibly handsome. At the moment, though, he looked to be rode hard and put away wet. Not a great analogy but it worked for her. The world had been particularly cruel to the dark haired man. She was hoping she could help protect him from it. Michael wasn't going to be happy with them, bringing a stranger into the compound. But if the man was a bad guy they'd figure it out soon enough. Heaven help the man if that turned out to be the case.

"I don't think so. Maybe we should stop at the next gas station, buy some blankets and stuff for him. I'm not sure he's going to last the four hours to get home," Theresa stated. She looked at their ward's face. Under the grime he appeared to be very pale. He was breathing okay now but for a few minutes there it had been a bit laboured. Maybe Tylenol or something would be a good idea too and water and towels. The list just kept getting longer.

"Okay. We need gas anyway. We'll have to throw our coats over him, though. Otherwise someone might start asking questions," Amanda said.

"Would that be a bad thing?" Theresa inquired. "Maybe we could pawn him off on one of the locals and Michael will be none the wiser."

Amanda was quiet for several seconds while she contemplated the possibilities. Michael really was going to be pissed about their bringing home a stray. But then, that's what the compound was all about, giving the strays of the world some place to live. Someplace that was safe and secure. Those were precious commodities in most of their lives. Apparently the man in the back seat fell into the same category.

"No. We found him. That happened for a reason. We can't shirk that responsibility, no matter how mad Michael gets," Amanda finally said. Her mind made up, she began pulling her jacket off. They weren't going to take any chances.

"Okay. I agree. Let's get this done," Theresa stated.

OOOOO

The emergency room was a scene of controlled chaos. Apparently, just before Reid arrived a small gang war had broken out between rival groups. The on call doctors and nurses had their hands full dealing with belligerent patients, not all of which really wanted to be there. As per standard procedure, the local police had brought in everyone who was injured to have them checked out before they were sent to jail.

Rolling Reid into the chaos on top of the gurney, Roy immediately recognized the situation. This was the only hospital in town so they didn't have a choice. Catching hold of a nurse on her way by, Roy filled her in quickly.

"Great," the woman said, sarcasm in her voice. Looking around, she tried to locate an available room. There weren't any, not really. She made a decision. "Okay, follow me. I'll get you out of this mess and someplace quieter."

"Thank you," Roy said with genuine feeling. That noise and tension in the ER was the last place the young profiler needed to wake up. Relieved, he followed the woman through the maelstrom to one of the examination rooms that were used for the day clinic. It wasn't optimal but it would work for now.

"Stay here. I'll get a team down here ASAP," the nurse said as she stepped around a glowering Morgan to head back down the hallway.

Carefully, Roy and Johnny pushed the gurney into the room and continued to monitor Reid's life signs until help could arrive. Morgan had finally had to let go of Reid's hand but he stayed very close by. He trusted the paramedics but he wasn't so sure about the new team. He assumed they were good, otherwise they wouldn't be here. He wasn't willing to do take any chances with Reid's care.

"Where are they all ready?" Morgan growled as he prowled the small space. There was a quiet knock on the door and then Rossi, Emily, J.J. and Garcia were hovering in the open door. Upon seeing the lack of medical personnel, Rossi turned and headed down the hallway.

"How is he?" Garcia asked. Her face was white under her makeup. As Morgan watched, he saw Garcia's lower lip begin the tremble.

"He's holding his own," Roy stated as he checked the IV bags and lines. "Nothing is life threatening but he has been beaten pretty extensively. We'll have to wait for the doctor's examination to find out how long his recovery will be."

Just then a team of two doctors and two nurses appeared. Looking at the crowd in the room, the first doctor's face went dark. "Everyone out," he barked.


	14. Chapter 14

_Hello! Thank you for the reviews, I love to get them. PLEASE continue to let me know what you think. As you might have noticed, I do take suggestions to heart. Sometimes just reading what someone else comes up with sparks things in my mind. _

_I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I still haven't decided for sure how the compound people are going to react to Hotch. I'm not sure if I'm going to let him have all his faculties yet either. ;). So many decisions!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"This man is a federal agent," Morgan growled. "He will not be left here unsupervised."

"This is a hospital. He will be fine," the doctor growled. Quietly, Rossi and the others began leaving. The last thing they wanted to do was prevent Reid from being treated any longer than necessary. But, he knew the doctor wasn't going to get Morgan out of the room. Not without giving him a sedative and dragging him out.

"He will not be left here unsupervised," Morgan repeated, folding his arms across his considerable chest.

"Ah, doc, could I talk to you for a moment?" the local sheriff asked. He had a good relationship with the doctor. He also know how pig headed the man could be.

"I thought the man's condition required immediate attention?" the doctor said.

"This situation is only going to escalate. Please, come outside and I'll explain it to you briefly," the sheriff said. He glanced over at the menacing agent standing by the back wall.

"Fine," the doctor huffed. He followed the sheriff outside and down the hall a little bit. As quickly and quietly as the sheriff could manage, he explained the situation as he knew it to the doctor. While it didn't improve the man's mood, he looked at the crowd in a different light. Heaving a sigh, the doctor headed back into the room.

"Okay, you can stay but the first time you get in our way, you'll be escorted out," the doctor stated looking at Morgan.

"That's fine," Morgan responded. Silently he watched as the nurses carefully moved Reid over to the bed before pushing the gurney out of the room. They needed all the room they could manage. Reid looked so small on the bed as the blankets were stripped off of him and the doctors and nurses set to work evaluating his condition.

OOOOO

As the trooper made the turn to pull into the rest area, he witnessed the SUV pulling out. The woman waved at him as she turned right on the highway. Instantly he turned on his flashers, trying to pull the woman over as he quickly turned his vehicle around.

Upon seeing the flashing lights, Mary pressed down on the gas. That was not in her plans for the day. The V-8 roared as she floored the accelerator and struggled to keep the vehicle on the road. The moisture was working against her.

Within seconds, the trooper was behind Mary and gaining speed. A quick glance in her rear view mirror was all she could manage as she fought the large vehicle. It kept pulling to the left, heading toward the ditch between the double lanes of traffic. Cursing, Mary concentrated harder. There was no way she was going to let the man take her in. She had to find Hotch, to punish him for trying to escape.

OOOOO

"Here we are. I'll pump the gas. You go inside, get what you need and pay for the gas. I'll pull around once the tank's full," Amanda said. Anxiously, she glanced over the seat to examine their charge. Well, it wouldn't survive close scrutiny but with any luck that wouldn't be a problem.

"Okay. I'll be back in a jiffy," Theresa responded as she jumped out of the car. Quickly she made her way to the convenience store where the cash register was. Stepping through the door, she scanned the options. Well, the place seemed to be very well stocked but it wasn't going to be cheap, just another reason for Michael to be mad at them.

A wire basket in hand, Theresa headed to the first aid section of the store. Within seconds she had everything she needed from there and began walking around the rest of the place to see if there was anything else they might need. By the time she was done, the basket was overflowing. Walking up to the counter, Theresa looked through the front window to see Amanda pulling away from the pump.

"Good morning," the cashier said from behind the counter.

"Good morning to you," Theresa responded. "I'm also paying for the gas on pump one."

"Sure thing," the cashier responded. Efficiently, the young man rang in the items in the basket and placed them in plastic bags. Totalling the register, he accepted the cash Theresa handed him and gave her the change. "Have a great day!!"

"You, too," Theresa responded as she headed over to the car. Carefully, she climbed into the back seat, Hotch's head in her lap.

"Did you buy the whole store?" Amanda asked, looking at the bags Theresa began to unload.

"No, just the important parts," Theresa responded. "Let's get going."

As the car pulled back out onto the highway, Theresa pulled a bottle of water and a face cloth out of one bag and began cleaning the filth off of the man's face. A large bruise covered one side of the man's face. It was kind of odd because it looked like an old bruise with a new bruise on top of it. Carefully, she wiped at it, trying to get the dirt and gravel out of it. Hotch reacted, trying to pull away but didn't show any signs of coming around.

"Sshh, ssshh," Theresa murmured as she worked. Gently, she pushed his dark hair out of his face so she could reach every inch of it. That face cloth quickly became soiled so she moved onto a new one. She'd thought about using paper towels but had decided they would be too abrasive. Now, she was glad she'd bought two rolls just in case. At this rate, she was going to run out of face clothes before she ran out of dirt.

"How's he doing?" Amanda asked. She couldn't really see what Theresa was doing in the rear view mirror but she could hear the man's ragged breathing and small moans.

"Someone's had a little too much fun at his expense," Theresa responded. She was down to his neck. "I think he'll live but he isn't going to be too happy about it for a little while."

"Was he hit by a car or something?" Amanda asked. Traffic had picked up on the highway. She had to make sure she paid attention to where she was going and who was around them. Getting into a traffic accident was not an option.

"I don't think so. The wounds seem to be more deliberate than that," Theresa said. Carefully, she pulled Hotch's arm out from under the coats and saw the cuts from the restraints. "I think he's been tied up."

"What? You mean like a slave or something? Do you think he's a convict or something?" Amanda asked. She glanced in the rear view to see Theresa's face. Her mouth open, Theresa held up Aaron's wrist for her to see. "Oh my God, that's horrible! Didn't Brian have those when he came to us?"

"Yeah, him and a couple of others. Damn but people are sick," Theresa breathed. Moving the coats further down the man's body, she found the graze and the brand. Anger burned in her stomach. "Son of a bitch."

"What?" Amanda hated not being able to see what was going on in the back seat. She fought down the urge to pull over to the side of the road. They needed to get home before two if she stopped they'd never make it.

Theresa wiped the dirt off both wounds, Hotch writhing under her ministrations. Her stomach dropped even more. What the hell at they been doing to this man?

"Whoever did this was one sick son of a bitch. Let's get him home, Thomas is going to have a lot to do with this one."

OOOOO

Hovering, Morgan watched as the doctors and nurses shifted Reid from his back to his side. They needed to complete their examinations. Even he noticed the dried blood on the young man's buttocks. Anger spiked through the roof. Feeling the need to rip someone's head off, Morgan watched as the medical personnel worked on evaluating the damage and cleaning him up.

As soon as the doctor touched Reid there, the young man stiffened, trying to pull away. The nurses were forced to hold him in place, despite his weak struggles. Low moans and groans issued from behind the oxygen mask.

"You're upsetting him," Morgan growled. It took every ounce of self control he possessed to keep from ripping the man away from Reid. He hated the thought of what had been done to Reid and the thoughts that were racing through his unconscious mind at being touched.

"I'd be upset too if I'd been raped repeatedly," the doctor responded off handedly.

"Repeatedly," Morgan echoed. Watching Reid writhe under the man's ministrations, Morgan had to force himself to take a step back emotionally. The man was a doctor. He was a trained professional. Surely he knew what he was doing?

"Unless of course it was consensual and got a little rough," the doctor stated with a smirk on his face.

"Reid is not gay," Morgan grated out. "And I would advise you to stop making such statements."

"Okay," the doctor responded as he looked at the large man. "I was simply making an observation."

"The next time something like that comes out of your mouth, I will take it up with you in the hallway," Morgan stated, every fibre of his being screaming out to smash the man in the face. The doctor looked up at him for a moment before turning his attention back to the squirming federal agent on the table. Few men scared him. The glowering man at the end of the table was drifting toward that category. He wished the young man were a little more cooperative. Right now he just wanted to get this over with, without resulting in serious bodily injury to his person. Silently, Morgan looked on. He wanted this to be over with too.

With his heart in his throat, Morgan watched as Reid continued to react to what was being done to him. The young genius's face kept scrunching up in pain and discomfort as the doctors continued to work on his thigh and the damage done to him internally. The one thing Morgan was grateful for was that Reid was still unconscious. The young man would be mortified if he were awake.

By the time the medical team were done, Reid had been pumped full of antibiotics and pain killers. They'd washed him up, patched everything that needed patching and wrapped him in one of those silly white hospital gowns. Morgan made a mental note to find the kid some real pyjamas ASAP. He wanted to decrease the discomfort of his associate as much as possible. Leaving Reid lying on his side, the team transferred him to a gurney and sent him up to a private room where he would be observed while he came around.

"You'll have to wait here until we get him settled," the head nurse said, gently placing a hand on Morgan's chest as he tried to follow Reid out of the room.

"I'm not leaving him alone," Morgan responded angrily. He knew the woman was just doing her job but he needed to be with Reid, to make sure no more harm was done to him in his helpless state.

"I understand but you won't be allowed in the room until he is settled," the nurse persisted.

"I've all ready seen everything that's been done to him," Morgan said as he tried to skirt around the woman to follow the gurney. "There's nothing else you can do to him that will shock me."

"We need to put a catheter in him and other things that he wouldn't appreciate anyone else seeing. I know you're worried about him. You have every reason to be but please, let us do our jobs. You can stand in the doorway until we are finished if you're worried about someone else coming in," the nurse stated.

The longer they argued, the further away Reid was getting. Desperate, Morgan gave in. "All right, lead the way."


	15. Chapter 15

_I'm so sorry that this has taken me so long to get out. I've been thinking about it but sometimes life just gets in the way. You know how it is. Thank you ever so much for all the reviews. I appreciate each and every one of them!_

_I hope you enjoy the new chapter. It may be the last one until the weekend. I have some other stories that I need to update first. Please be patient!_

_Thanks._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

"What is going on with the search for Mary?" Rossi asked as he watched Reid being pushed by in a gurney. He'd witnessed the debate between Derek and the nurse. He was amused that Morgan had given in, it wasn't in his nature. He desperately wanted to find out how Reid was doing but the fact that they weren't pushing him at a dead run seemed to be a good indication that he was all right.

"I've just heard from the local sheriff. A State Trooper ID'd her from a traffic stop this morning. Unfortunately he didn't have the BOLO for her until after he'd let her go but he's chasing her down now. They're three counties over," Hicks responded. He was itching to get out there, to chase that bitch down himself but there was no way to get there in time.

"Three counties?! She travelled that far with Hotch?" Emily demanded. She'd been eavesdropping and couldn't help the outburst.

"Unfortunately, the Trooper couldn't confirm that Hotch was in the vehicle. When he told her she had to leave the rest stop, it appeared that she was alone," Hicks said. He listened to his cell for a few more seconds before turning back to Rossi and Emily. "He's lost her."

OOOOO

Morgan continued to hover over Reid. He'd left the rest of the BAU in the hallway. They were going to have to deal with Hotch's disappearance for a little while longer. He wasn't leaving until he knew Reid was okay.

The nurses had settled the young genius in a bed in a single room. He looked small and pale in the standard issue hospital gown and the white sheets pulled up to his chest. Reid's pale face had several bruises and cuts on it and his hair was kind of stringy still from being wet. The bruising around Reid's mouth particularly disturbed Morgan. He had a feeling he knew how that happened. The images it created in his mind infuriated him. Finally the last nurse left and Morgan was able to move a little bit closer.

Reaching behind him, Morgan pulled the pleather covered metal chair up beside Reid's bed and settled his strong frame into it. Tentatively, Derek reached out, caught hold of Reid's cool, lifeless hand and held it tightly. "I'm going to kill him," Morgan muttered under his breath. With his other hand, he moved Spencer's too long hair out of his eyes.

Silently, Morgan watched Reid's face. The kid looked young, too young, and roughed up beyond all belief. Under Reid's eyelids, his eyes were moving around, frantically. As the fact that the kid was having a nightmare registered, Reid began shifting around in his bed, his breathing became hitched. Sweat began to spread across Reid's forehead and his head thrashed from side to side.

"Hey, hey, hey, Reid, you're okay," Morgan said as his one hand gently rubbed the side of Reid's face, trying to assure him while the other one caught hold of his shoulder and shook it gently, trying to wake him.

"NO, NO, no, I don't want it. STOP!" Reid muttered as he continued to thrash. A low whimper began to slip from between Spencer's tight lips.

"Spencer!" Morgan said as he shook a little harder. The young profiler's muscles were tense with fear and pain as he rode out the terrors being inflicted him by his own mind. The thrashing continued as Reid tried to climb off the bed. "Spence! Calm down, you're safe. You're safe."

It quickly became a mantra as Derek tried to calm his friend. For the first few minutes, though, it didn't seem to have any effect as Reid continued to moan, tremble and thrash. Morgan didn't have to be a genius to guess what his colleague was reliving. He could see it in every line of his being. Doug was raping him again.

Desperate to break the dream, Morgan caught hold of both of Reid's shoulders and basically pulled him off of the bed before shaking him, hard. He felt like he was physically abusing the fragile looking younger agent but he didn't get a response at first. Then Reid's eyes slid open long enough to look at Derek before sliding shut again.

Gently, Morgan laid his friend back down onto the bed and waited for further evidence that he was waking up. Reid had stopped thrashing but was still breathing like a locomotive as the after effects of the dream reverberated through his mind. Feeling helpless, Morgan placed his hand on the side of Reid's face and waited. "Come on, buddy, wake up."

Slowly, Reid's eyelids fluttered open once again. Looking into the brown depths, Morgan's heart broke at the fear and misery he saw within them. It was even worse than when they'd found him after Henkel had nearly killed him. Upon recognizing Derek, shame flashed through Reid's eyes and they dropped to the blanket. Embarrassment burned on his pale cheeks.

"Hey, hey, don't do that," Morgan said, he slid a finger under Reid's chin and forced the young genius to look him in the eye again. "This was not your fault. You bear no shame in this."

"You know?" Reid asked his voice small as the shame burned a little brighter on his face. Automatically his eyes tried to skid sideways to the wall, the floor, anywhere but his friend's face. "Oh God."

"Yeah, I know. I was in the room when the doctor examined you. I wanted to make sure you were safe," Morgan said. He left his hand where it was, against Reid's cheek. He needed to maintain physical contact with the young genius to prove to him that he was still touchable. If Reid became too agitated, he'd move.

"Where's Hotch?" Reid asked. His eyes still kept skidding off Morgan's face. He was humiliated beyond words for what he'd allowed to happen. He just wanted to change the subject.

"We're not sure. Rossi and Sheriff Hicks are working on it," Morgan lied. He wasn't really sure how but he knew that eventually they'd find the Unit Chief. "Damn it, look at me, Reid."

Reid's head was like a yo-yo. It kept bobbing down every time Morgan moved his hand away from his chin. It was frustrating as hell. Reid found it hard to breath upon hearing that Hotch hadn't been found yet. What was Mary doing to him? At least he didn't have to worry about Doug raping him again. Doug was caught, right?

"Where're Mary and Doug?" Reid asked.

"Doug's at the local sheriff's station. We aren't finished interviewing him yet. He might have some leads on where Mary would take Hotch now that they're separated."

"He's the one that did it," Reid said, bile rising in his throat. The shame that had begun to fade was burning brighter again. Reid's eyes tried to find the blanket but Morgan kept him looking at him.

"You are not to blame for this," Morgan said as Reid finally looked at him.

"I'm an FBI agent. I should have been able to protect myself," Reid said, his eyes sliding away again.

"Under those circumstances I wouldn't have been able to protect myself," Morgan stated. He would like to think he would be able to keep himself from being raped but under the same circumstances, there were no guarantees.

"You wouldn't have been in the situation to begin with," Reid said.

"You were run off the damned road Reid. There was nothing you could do to prevent it. Please, give yourself a break. You survived. That's the only thing that matters now or ever," Morgan pressed. Reid was starting to fold in on himself, his long frame getting smaller.

"I'm an FBI agent," Reid repeated.

"That doesn't mean anything. You were injured from the crash, suffering from blood loss and shock. Stop beating yourself up over this," Morgan said. He waited to see if Reid was going to ignore him or finally start listening to him. With some relief, he saw Reid begin to unfold as his eyes looked back up into Morgan's face. As he unfolded, he carefully rolled over onto his left side. It hurt too much to lie on his back because of the trauma Doug had caused and his right side hurt too much because of the wound on his thigh.

"I hate this," Reid said, looking into his friend's warm, understanding eyes. "I hate feeling so damned vulnerable and useless."

"I know, kid. Those are both things you're going to have to work through but at least you're here to do that. It sure the hell beats the alternative," Morgan said as he settled back into the chair beside the bed. "Get some sleep. I'll be here until you wake up."

Reassured more than he wanted to admit, Reid curled his downward arm under his head, closed his eyes and allowed his mind to drift. Within moments he was asleep.

OOOOO

The pain pounced on Hotch as soon as he became aware. It pulled the breath from his lungs while he struggled to find a more comfortable position. Dimly he became aware of the fact that his head was resting on something warm and soft. That didn't really track with what he could remember. Then he realized he wasn't entirely sure what he could remember. It was all blurry and disjointed.

He tried to open his eyes only to find the light on the other side to be overpowering. Instantly his eyes slammed shut again. The body under him shifted slightly, then a hand came to rest against the side of his face. "Hey, are you awake?" a decidedly female voice asked from somewhere above him.

Hotch tried one more time to open his eyes only to find that the only thing he saw as a deep, white fog. He couldn't quite figure that one out. Then the voice spoke through the fog.

"Are you all right?" He didn't recognize the voice. It wasn't one he could remember ever hearing before. But there was no malice there, just concern.

A low moan was the only sound Hotch was able to produce. He suddenly realized just how thirsty he was. When was the last time he'd had something to drink? He couldn't remember. It seemed like a very long time ago. Everything seemed like a long time ago.

"Here." A plastic bottle was being held against his lips. After sputtering on the first mouthful, Hotch drank half of the contents before the bottle was pulled away. "Sorry. Don't want you throwing that up because you drank too much."

"Who did this to you?" the voice asked. His eyes firmly closed, Hotch felt a hand rest on his forehead, as if feeling for a fever. He found the motion oddly comforting.

"Unsub," Hotch said his voice scratchy and low. It seemed like the only thing that made sense. He just wasn't entirely sure where the word came from. Not a lot of this was making sense. Who was holding him? Why wasn't he afraid of them after the pain that was coursing through his body? Someone had done this to him, why was he so sure this wasn't the person responsible? None of it was making sense.

"What was that?" Theresa asked. She was thrilled that the man appeared to be awake but she wasn't sure he was even speaking English at this point. She'd gone as far as the man's filthy boxer shorts before she'd had to stop. She would have to move to reach any further along the man's torso but she hadn't really wanted to move him. Now that he appeared to be awake she wasn't quite as concerned.

The man didn't respond. It seemed as if he'd fallen asleep again. Carefully, Theresa climbed out from under his head and positioned herself in the footwell on the driver's side. It was the only way she could reach his bottom end. At the moment the man's long legs were braced against the driver's side rear door and were bent upward.

"I feel kind of dirty doing this," Theresa stated as she reached for the soiled fabric. The waist band was kind of crunchy with blood and other bodily fluids. Theresa tried to not think about it too much as she inched them down.

"If it bothers you so much, don't do it," Amanda volunteered from the front seat. She didn't bother to hide the smile that crept across her face.

"Shut up," Theresa responded. Gently, she pulled the fabric back. What she found sent ice through her veins. While not as experienced with men as she might have wanted to be, Theresa had seen enough naked men to know that what she was looking at was not normal. The man had to be in incredible pain from the slight bruising she found and the swelling of his genitals. "Holy shit."

"What? Is he a woman?" Amanda asked from the front seat. She tried to see her friend's face in the rear view mirror but all she saw was the top of Theresa's head.

"Oh my God," Theresa breathed. "Someone didn't like this man very much."

"What are you talking about?" Amanda demanded. She hated not knowing what was going on. If there was something seriously wrong with the man in the back seat, like the plague or something that could be passed onto the others, there was no way she was going to take him back. She didn't want to be responsible for making everyone at home sick.

"Someone's beat the crap out of his manhood," Theresa responded as she quickly scanned the items she'd bought at the store. She needed something to get the swelling down. Picking up a bottle of Tylenol she'd bought, Theresa pulled three capsules out of the bottle and slipped them between the man's lips. Then she poured water into his mouth until she was sure they were gone. Next she pulled one of the still cold bottles of water out of the bag, wrapped one of the soiled wash clothes around it and carefully put it in place.

"There're a few men I'd like to do that to but they all deserve it. I wonder what this guy's story is," Amanda said. She was still having her doubts about taking him home. What if he was a homicidal maniac or a child molester?

"We'll have to wait and find out. He's unconscious again," Theresa said. As fast as she could, Theresa stripped the filthy piece of clothing off his long legs and replaced it with a pair of novelty ones she'd bought at the gas station. They weren't very flattering, Homer Simpson was not one of her favourite people, but they were clean. "How much longer 'til we're home?"

"We should be there in about an hour," Amanda said as she pressed on the gas just a little bit harder. Michael was going to have to make the decision. She just wanted to get home.

OOOOO

The miles disappeared under the SUV's tires. Mary wasn't slowing down for anyone. Luckily it was a one way road so she didn't have to worry about vehicles coming from the other direction. As it was, she continued to fight with the too large vehicle. She was missing her car.

Glancing in the rear view mirror she considered turning around, trying to find Hotch. But the lights flashing far in the distance changed her mind. Instead, she pulled off on the first dirt road she came to after following a wide bend in the road. She couldn't see the lights so they couldn't see her. She hoped.

OOOOO

"Shit, shit, shit," the Trooper swore under his breath as he scanned the vehicles ahead. The traffic had become too dense. He couldn't continue the pursuit without endangering innocent motorists. While the woman was wanted for questioning, she wasn't worth taking the chance for. Still, he drove a little faster than he should have and turned his flashers off. He didn't want her to see him coming up behind her. When he finally figured out where she was.


	16. Chapter 16

_Hello!! I'm sorry this has taken so long. My next update won't take nearly as long. Thank you ever so much for all the reviews. You know I love them!_

_Enjoy the new chapter. At least I hope you do._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

"There she is!!" Pressing on the accelerator a little too hard, the Trooper gained speed. Coming around the bend in the highway, he'd just seen the dark SUV pulling off onto a dirt road. Speeding by the vehicles in front of him, the Trooper quickly pulled back into the right hand lane and then took the turn onto the same road.

He knew the woman wouldn't be able to get too far. The road dead ended by a small lake. The lake wasn't big enough to even have cabins but local people still liked to go there to fish and occasionally swim if it was hot enough. Just as expected, as he followed the first turn, the SUV was coming down the road toward him. Slamming on the brakes of his cruiser, the Trooper spun the vehicle until he blocked the road. He wasn't taking the chance that the woman was going to try to escape.

Seeing the cruiser, Mary cranked on the wheel. It was a SUV after all, she was going to off road it. Unfortunately, there was a very large tree in the way. She didn't take her foot off the gas and smashed into the large tree without slowing down. At the last minute she hoped the crash would kill her. She didn't want to go to jail.

As he watched the vehicle careen toward the tree, the Trooper got on his radio and asked for fire and rescue to respond to the scene. Stupid woman. Only mildly concerned, the Trooper waited until crash was over before climbing out of his vehicle and checking on the woman.

As he reached the smoking mess, the Trooper smashed the driver's side window out and reached inside. Mary was slumped over the steering wheel, apparently unconscious. Carefully, because he didn't want to get sued, the Trooper checked for a pulse without moving the woman. Under his finger tips he felt the blood pulsing through her veins. She was still alive.

OOOOO

Reid was dreaming again. Morgan wondered if the kid managed to get any rest at all. Gently, he took hold of the thin agent's nearest shoulder and shook it. He'd been watching and was trying to intervene earlier. Hopefully this time it wouldn't take as long to roust the younger man. Hopefully.

"Reid. Wake up," Morgan said as he continued to shake Reid' shoulder.

Spencer was still firmly entrenched in his mind. The sensation of Doug pressing into his body, ripping him in two in the process, was too strong to fight. He felt the man's hands running over his skin, grabbing him in places he didn't want to be touched. It was like it was happening all over again. With a great sob of frustration, Reid tried to pull away from the hands holding his shoulders while he was assaulted from behind.

"Reid!! You're safe. It's me," Morgan tried again as the young genius fought against him. Clearly Reid could feel Morgan's hands but he was mistaking them for someone else. Of course Morgan knew who that other person was. Fury burned in his mind and stomach. He really wanted to beat the shit out of Doug West.

"No, not again!" Reid growled as he pulled Morgan's hand off his shoulder and tossed it aside. Derek was shocked by the strength the younger agent was exhibiting. It was completely out of character for Reid. Free, Reid pushed his body toward the other side of the bed, keeping his eyes closed the entire time. Morgan wasn't sure if he was awake or not.

Moving around the bed, Morgan just managed to keep Reid from sliding off the other side. As soon as he touched Reid's back though, the young man jolted awake and turned on him, ready to protect himself.

"Whoa, Reid. It's me. I was just keeping you on the bed," Morgan said as he held his hands up in surrender. He'd never seen Reid's face twisted into a mask of such anger and hatred before. It took a moment for Reid to drag his mind out of the dream and back into reality. Seeing Derek standing in front of him with his hands up, Reid wondered what he'd done. What Tommy had been ready to do. Damn.

"Sorry," Reid said as he settled back onto the bed and tried to still his breathing. He felt like he'd just run a marathon, his body was so tired. Closing his eyes, Reid tried to dispel the images that kept floating through his mind. He didn't want to think about what Doug had done to him. Unfortunately, the pain running through his body wasn't so easy to ignore. Tommy kept trying to emerge, to protect him from the emotions and images. Reid refused.

"Don't be sorry. I was trying to wake you up was all," Morgan said. Satisfied that Reid was awake and coherent, Morgan paced over to the window along the far wall of the room. The city outside the glass was unfamiliar to him. It would be nice to be able to go home soon. But not without Hotch.

"Any word on Hotch?" Reid asked, trying to deflect attention from his discomfiture. He shifted on the bed, trying to find a position that didn't aggravate his newly awakened injury but it was hopeless. The best he could accomplish was a position that didn't make the rest of his body hurt.

"No. Last I heard a State Trooper was tracking down Mary's car but it didn't appear as if Hotch was inside it," Morgan stated. He leaned against the window and watched the world go by. "You know I understand what you're going through, right?"

Not responding immediately, Reid took a moment or two to process all the information he had on the other BAU member. Of course, Morgan had been abused by his mentor and coach as a teenager. How could he have forgotten? While Reid wasn't sure the abuse had included rape, just the fact that Morgan had survived it to become the strong, confident man he now was gave him hope. Sighing, Reid looked up at the older man only to find that he wasn't looking at him. "Yeah, I know."

"You can tell me anything. You know that too, right?" Morgan asked. He was feeling vulnerable talking to Reid like this but he wanted to make sure he understood. He wanted to make sure Reid knew he was there for him no matter what.

"Of course," Reid responded quickly. This time he hadn't needed to think. He knew he could trust Derek, with anything.

"Good. I just wanted to make sure of that." Morgan's cell phone beeped. Without taking his eyes off the view, Morgan pulled the device off of his belt. Finally tearing his eyes off the cars carrying on with their lives below, he glanced at the illuminated screen. "They got Mary. She crashed her vehicle and is being sent to the nearest hospital for examination."

"They aren't bringing her here are they?" Reid asked. He wasn't able to hide the panic and fear from his voice. The thought of Mary being in the same building terrified him. Tommy clamoured again to take control. Reid sent him back to watch the others. It kept the other part of him occupied without hurting his feelings.

"No, don't worry, Reid. She's three counties over. Rossi, J.J. and Emily are headed out. Garcia is going to stay here with you," Derek said as he scrolled through the rest of the message. "I have to go."

"I know," Reid stated. Morgan looked over at him with genuine regret on his face. There was another emotion floating just below the surface but Morgan was too good at covering it up for Reid to be able to identify it from this distance. Reid had the feeling though, that it was guilt. "You need to go and help find Hotch. I'll be fine. Doug and Mary are in custody. I'll be fine."

"You're sure?" Derek asked as he looked closer at Reid. At the news that Mary had been caught the line between Reid's eyebrows had vanished. Even now the young genius seemed to be much more relaxed. Upon receiving a careful nod from the kid, Morgan walked over to the bed, placed a comforting hand on Reid's shoulder and then left the room.

Alone for the first time since the bathtub, Reid closed his eyes and allowed silent tears to track down his face. He wasn't sure what exactly he was mourning, whether it was his own lost innocence or for Hotch's innocence as well. Maybe it was for the teenage Morgan who had had no place to turn. Ultimately it didn't really matter. The tears were there and he allowed them to cleanse the anger and hatred from his soul.

OOOOO

As he made his way for the front of the hospital, Morgan saw a familiar blond head walking quickly toward him. He knew the others were outside waiting for him but he needed to talk to Garcia first. Stepping out of the flow of people in the hallway, Derek signalled Penelope over to him.

"How's he doing?" Garcia asked breathlessly. She'd pretty much been running down the corridor to reach Reid. She hated the idea of the young profiler being alone for any length of time. Before she'd climbed out of the SUV, she'd reached into her purse and felt the reassuring presence of the gun she'd bought so long ago. No one was touching Reid ever again.

"He's having nightmares. When you see one starting, try to wake him up. The longer it goes on for the harder it is to bring him out of it. Otherwise I think he's worried about Hotch more so than himself at this point. Just keep an eye on him, okay?" Morgan said. He didn't have the time for verbal sparring with the woman, as much as he enjoyed it. There was a helicopter in a field waiting to take them to the hospital where Mary was being transported to.

"I can do that," Garcia said. Nodding his head, Derek placed a hand on her arm before heading down the hallway. He had a woman to see. He just hoped he could keep himself from killing her.

OOOOO

By the time Garcia reached Reid's room, the young profiler was asleep again. Watching his young face, Penelope settled into the chair recently vacated by Morgan and prepared to wait. Unconsciously, her right hand slipped into her bag and fingered the gun. She could see the large wet spot on the pillow under Reid's head. He'd been crying.

"Oh, sweetie," she breathed. "Damn them to hell."

OOOOO

"We're there," Amanda called back to Theresa. The other woman had resumed her position at the man's head. It seemed like the least intrusive of the possibilities. She'd replaced the cold bottle of water once so far. The only reason she hadn't done it more often was because they were all about room temperature now. It would be a waste of time.

The car had been driving down a well wooded, hard to find road. The end of the road revealed a strong wooden gate that prevented unwanted visitors. On guard at the gate were two of the group members. They were relatively new so Amanda wasn't sure of their names. Frick and Frack, Steve and John, something like that.

As they came up to the gate, the guards recognized the vehicle and, more importantly, the license plate. Silently, they pushed the gate open and stepped out of the way. Pulling up beside them, Amanda stuck her head out the window. "Let Michael and Thomas know we're heading up to the main house. We found a straggler."

"Sure thing," Frick, or was it Frack?, stated as he pulled his radio off his belt. While he spoke into the device, the other guard quickly closed the gate. The wooden planks that made the gate and the fence that circled the compound were rough hewn. They'd used the trees they'd had to cut down to make the clearing.

Driving down the ruts that now made up the road, Amanda pointed the front of their car toward the largest of the buildings. It was the main house where all meals were eaten, meetings were held and where what passed as their medical facilities were stationed. Mostly, though, it was used by the children in the compound as a play area. When a meeting or meal wasn't on, the kids had free reign of the place. The toys that were always scattered across the floor were testament to their dominion.

Pulling up in front of the main building, Amanda threw the car in park and climbed out of the driver's seat. She arched her back to stretch cramped muscles and then went around to the rear passenger door. Carefully she opened it and moved back to let Theresa extricate her body from underneath the man. Their passenger was showing no signs of coming around. He was little more than an oversized rag doll.

"This was a very bad idea," Amanda said as she looked down at the man's unconscious face. While he was very handsome, there was a hard edge to the man that even sleep couldn't seem to ease. That made her nervous.

"Too late now," Theresa said. Before she could move forward to start pulling the man out of the back seat, Michael and Thomas were there.

"Who's this?" Michael asked as he moved Theresa out of the way to get a better look. He took in the battered condition of the man's body and the Homer Simpson underwear. Somehow the garment seemed very out of character for the man. He guessed they were not his. That meant Theresa or Amanda had felt the need to put them on him. He wondered why.

"We found him on the side of the road," Amanda stated as she stepped back. Silently Thomas stepped forward and began a cursory exam. What he found made his blood run cold. "Theresa insisted on bringing him here."

"Why?" Michael asked as he turned toward Theresa. Under the intensity of Michael's blue eyed gaze, Theresa seemed to wilt.

"I don't know," she admitted. "I just couldn't leave him there. He might have died."

"And he still might," Thomas stated from the car. He'd found the wound and brand. The man was beginning to develop an infection. If he started treatment right away he might survive it. "What's the verdict, Michael?"

Before answering, Michael turned his attention back to the man sprawled on the seat. There was something about him, about his injuries that spoke to him. All of the people within the compound had suffered at the hands of another. Clearly, the man in the car had too. The big question was whether he'd deserved it or not.

"All right," Michael said. "Only until we can talk to him and find out who he is. If he deserved what's been done to him I want him back out on the highway."

"Of course," Thomas responded. Gently, the two men extricated Hotch from the back seat and began carrying him toward the big wooden double doors of the main house. Theresa moved to open the doors just as they reached them.

Inside, three of the children were involved in a game of tag. Their happy voices boomed within the high ceilinged room. As soon as they saw Michael, though, they stopped in their tracks and turned toward the tall, blond haired man. Not wanting to scare them, he smiled at them and nodded his head, indicating that they should continue on. Happily, the children went back to chasing each other around the room.

"Make sure you check him thoroughly, Thomas," Theresa said. She'd followed them into the room just long enough to impart the information. "Someone didn't like him very much."

"Don't worry, I will," Thomas responded. Then he and Michael were through the door to the one room of the main house reserved as a clinic. Gently, they placed the man on the wooden table. As soon as he touched the cold, hard surface, a low moan emitted from his partially open mouth.

"Where on this guy isn't hurt?" Michael asked. He stepped back to let Thomas reach the man. He watched as the medic began evaluating his injuries.

"He's exhibiting an unusual amount of distress at being laid on his back. Help me roll him over. I want to know why," Thomas said. Carefully, the two men rolled Hotch over onto his right side. In the light streaming in from the one window in the room, Thomas ran his hand over the man's back, expecting to feel hot spots, indicating bruises that were still beneath the skin or other signs of damage. He found nothing. Glancing up at Michael, he caught hold of the waist band of the boxers and slowly pulled them down. "Son of a bitch."

"Could it have been consensual?" Michael had to know. If he was gay that wasn't a problem, everyone was entitled to their won preferences, but if he was raped, that was an entirely different situation.

"With this amount of tearing and bruising? No, I don't think so," Thomas responded. He took a step back and wiped a hand over his mouth. This guy had been to hell and back. "No wonder he doesn't like to lie on his back."

"Well, unless we find out otherwise once he's awake, I guess he's staying," Michael said. He gazed down at the beaten man. He had the feeling they were looking at the tip of the ice berg. The man was hurt in ways that they couldn't currently imagine. Sighing, he left the room. There was going to have to be a council meeting about this. He might as well get the wheels turning. "Give me a full list of his injuries. I want to know before we have a meeting."

"I'll start a proper examination immediately," Thomas stated. He pushed a strand of dark brown hair behind his ear before carefully washing his hands and slipping on a pair of latex gloves. He wasn't willing to take the chance of catching anything from the man, like AIDS. They didn't have the facilities to deal with things like that. Gloved up, Thomas turned back toward his patient. He had the feeling this was going to be a long process.


	17. Chapter 17

_Hi! Thank you once again for all the wonderful reviews. You guys rock!! _

_Believe it or not but things are moving along, I'm just not entirely sure where they're going. Will have to see what comes out!!! I hope you enjoy it, I know I'm having fun._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

Reid startled awake. He was having the same dream. He always had the same dream, Doug, violating him, over and over again. Bile rose in his throat as he struggled out of the pain, fear and humiliation that had wrapped around him like a cloak. Dimly he heard a voice, a vaguely familiar one speaking to him. At the moment, though, the words were garbled, unintelligible.

Then Reid felt a hand on his arm, warm and gentle. Forcing his eyes open, he blinked rapidly, trying to recover enough to see properly. He should have known what he'd find, after all, Morgan had warned him, er, told him. Still, after the darkness he'd felt and seen in recent days, Penelope's too blond head was a relief.

"Reid?" Garcia whispered as she leaned in a little closer. She could tell that the young genius was still in shock. She'd been trying for the last three minutes to wake him up. She had no illusions that she had actually been the one to bring him around.

At first all that came out was a low mumble. Penelope wasn't sure what he said and so leaned in a little bit closer. The fact that Reid's eyes were open was encouraging. The first time she'd gotten too close the young man had accidently slugged her. Now she was a little more careful.

"Spencer?" Garcia asked. Gently she rested her hands on either side of Reid's head. Under her fingers she could feel the tracks left by Reid's tears. It brought a lump to her throat.

"Garcia?" Reid managed as his finally finished adjusting on her face. At the moment the computer analyst looked like an angel. A water smile crossed his face.

"Yeah, Reid, it's me. How are you feeling?" Garcia asked tears in the corners of her eyes, making her mascara run just a little.

"Tired of that question," Reid responded, a lop sided grin on his face. Painfully he tried to shift into another position. His injuries were reaffirming themselves. That was the bad part about waking up. "Have you heard anything from the rest of the Team? Is Mary in custody?"

"I'm sorry, Spence, I haven't heard anything yet. I'll let you know as soon as I do, honest," Penelope responded. She still had hold of the younger man's face. It reassured her that she was talking to him, that he was seeing her and not the terrors of his mind.

"I'm hungry," Reid stated. It had just occurred to him that he was famished.

"Okay," Garcia responded, a much larger smile gracing her face. This was something she could do to make Reid feel better, if only for a little while. "Just wait here, I'll get the nurse to bring you something to eat."

OOOOO

The helicopter had landed ten minutes ago. In the meantime Morgan, Emily and Rossi were travelling to the local hospital. Since it wasn't a medical emergency, they were not allowed to land the helicopter on the roof. While they understood the protocol, it was still frustrating to spend the extra time in transit.

In the front seat of a local PD vehicle, Morgan felt his right leg start vibrating. It was an outward sign of just how much physical tension he was under. It took every ounce of self control he possessed to keep from throwing the police officer driving them out of the car and taking over. He wasn't sure if the local PD would give him a ticket for speeding or not but at the moment he was willing to chance it.

"Do you know what kind of injuries we're talking about?" Emily asked in the back seat. Rossi had filled them both in on all the information he had. Unfortunately, it wasn't much. She was hoping to distract Morgan, she could see him vibrating from the back seat, and to find out what was going on. She hated not knowing.

"No, ma'am, I don't," the officer stated. "I was told to pick you up and bring you to the hospital, that's all the information I was given."

"Well, that's helpful," Morgan grumbled under his breath. He heard Emily grumbling too, something about 'Don't call me ma'am.'

"I'm sorry, sir," the officer said. He was driving as fast as he could without turning on his lights. This was not an emergency, the lights weren't permitted. No matter how much the FBI wanted him to.

Further discussion was pre-empted by their arrival at the front entrance of the hospital. Pulling up the doors, the officer waited for them to climb out. Then he called out, "the Chief is waiting for you inside."

"Thanks for the help," Morgan grumbled as he pulled his long frame and his go bag out of the cruiser. Wasn't it a State Trooper that had located Mary? Deciding he didn't feel like figuring it out, Morgan followed Rossi and Emily inside.

The hospital was reminiscent of the one Reid and Hotch had been in after their last run in with the West woman. It wasn't very big so they didn't have to waste any time searching the area. The Chief was standing by the reception desk. Morgan was only mildly surprised to find a tall, well built dark haired woman wearing a police uniform. Seeing the FBI agents approaching her, the Chief finished speaking to a man in scrubs and turned in their direction.

"I'm Chief Shepherd," the officer stated as she held her hand out first to Rossi and then the others. "Mary West is just down the hall, follow me."

"How badly is she injured?" Rossi asked as he paced beside the woman.

"She has a concussion, a broken arm and broken leg," Shepherd stated. "The doctor wanted to give her some pretty strong pain killers but I asked him to wait. I know you want to ask her a few questions before her mind gets muddled up with the drugs. So far she isn't saying anything about your Supervisory Special Agent Hotchner."

"Thank you," Morgan stated. He was extremely grateful that the officer had thought about their needs before she alleviated Mary's suffering. As far as he was concerned she deserved every second of suffering that she got.

"No problem. I've seen the files, I know what her and her brother are accused of doing. I just want to help find your man." Down the hall they could see another officer standing in front of a door. The Chief signalled to them that that was the room they wanted. She slowed down and allowed them to cover the rest of the distance in their own time. This was their show, she wasn't about to get in the way.

Opening the door, Morgan stepped into the room first. It was a typical hospital room. A window shone a little light into the room. There was one bed resting up against a wall full of medical equipment. A door to his right probably led to the bathroom. On the bed, swathed in casts and bandages was the person he wanted to kill, Mary West.

"It's about time you got here," Mary stated as a grimace passed over her face. "I've been here forever."

"Where is he?" Morgan grated as he moved toward her, his hands balled up into fists. Rossi and Emily quickly got in the way. They weren't too sure about their colleague's ability to keep his fury under control.

"Who?" Mary asked as she looked at the three FBI agents. If they killed her that would be on them, ultimately it didn't matter a lot to her. It was either letting one of them kill her in a rage or going to prison. Both options were of the same.

"You know who," Morgan said. He hadn't touched Rossi or Emily yet, he wasn't ready to step over that line. But just barely.

"Oooh," Mary said in a sing song voice. "You want to know about the bastard who murdered my brother. He's dead."

It was like the woman had delivered a physical blow to all three people in the room. Derek leapt forward, ready to beat her into oblivion. In their shock, Rossi and Emily almost let him get by them. Almost. Mary started to laugh.

OOOOO

By the time he was done Thomas felt violently ill. He'd done what he could, washing out the injuries and applying antibiotic ointment on the gunshot wound and the brand. He also injected Hotch with antibiotics and pain killers. The man was a mess. Taking a quivering breath, Thomas gently laid a thick blanket over the man's body before heading out to the common area.

The children were helping to set the long table for supper. After supper would be the council meeting. Michael was standing near the head of the table speaking with Amanda and Theresa. Suddenly feeling very old, Thomas paced over to them. As he moved he wiped a trembling hand over his mouth.

"How bad is it?" Michael inquired as Thomas got closer.

"Bad. I don't think he's going to be telling us anything for a while. Infection is trying to set in. If it gets too bad we're going to have to put him in a tub with cool water to bring it down. I'm going to have to do an internal examination to see how much damage has been done inside. I don't think he's going to like it. Could you help hold him down?" Thomas asked. It was the last thing he had to do but he didn't want to attempt it alone. It could cause the man more damage than he all ready had.

"I'm not going to like this, am I?" Michael said. He looked at the compound medic. Thomas looked a little green around the gills. This must be really bad. "Let's get this over with."

Nodding at the two women, Michael followed Thomas back into the room. The man under the blanket looked surprisingly small. He was curled up on his left side, his knees drawn in slightly and his back curved in. Hotch's dark hair was sweaty and plastered to his forehead. His skin was pale and clammy and lines of pain marred his face. His eyes were tightly shut as spasms of pain crossed over his face.

"Damn," Michael swore. Unconsciously, he ran a hand through his blond hair before moving into position. He watched as Thomas pulled on a fresh pair of latex gloves and then applied a lubricant to the first finger on his right hand. Taking a deep breath, Thomas moved around to the man's back end. This wasn't going to be pleasant.

OOOOO

Hotch was wrapped in a world of velvety darkness. There was no pain, no suffering here. There was also no light, no sound. He just floated endlessly. Memories of his son, Jack, when he was a baby through to a toddler floated through his mind's eye. Visions of his team also floated through his mind, especially Reid. What had Doug done to the young genius after Mary had taken him away? The very thought sent shivers through Hotch's soul.

At a great distance he could just barely feel someone touching him. To Hotch it felt like something as light as a feather was running over his skin. He wasn't sure if he wanted to come out of the enveloping darkness, the place with no pain, to see what was going on. Then he remembered Reid. He had to know what had happened to his surrogate son. Desperately, he swam toward the surface of his mind.

Just as Hotch reached the light, pain ripped through his body yet again. Gasping, he tried to pull away only to find he had no strength. The pain grew worse as something or someone penetrated him further. Bile rose in Hotch's throat as he tried again to pull away. _No! Not again! Never again! _Burned through Hotch's mind as images of Doug raping him raged through the FBI agent's mind. Between the horrific images and the pain, Hotch's body did the only thing it could to protect him. He passed out as his mind shut down completely.

OOOOO

"Is this really necessary?" Michael asked. He could feel the man trying to struggle under his hands but there was no strength behind the movements. Then bile was trickling out of the man's mouth as pitiful whimpering sounds emerged from his open mouth. Michael had the feeling the response was entirely involuntary but watching it and hearing it was gut-wrenching.

"Yeah, I'm afraid so. I need to know if he's torn inside. If he is there's a great possibility of infection. He's all ready verging on a complete physical breakdown because of the abuse done to him and the infection trying to take over. I need as much information as I can get," Thomas responded. He tried to ignore the sounds and the trembling his examination was eliciting. It was for the man's own good after all. Finally, though, he was finished, pulled his probing finger out and removed his gloves. "Thank God that's over."


	18. Chapter 18

_Hello! Not a lot to say this chapter. Thank you as always for the reviews. It makes writing that much more rewarding! _

_As far as Thomas's name, quite honestly no, I didn't think that one out. But it could very well have been a subconscious decision. It's hard to tell with me. The name Gibbs kept wanting to come out too. That could have been short for Gibson. Or I want too much TV and zoned in on NCIS. Also a possibility. Anyway, enough rambling._

_I hope you enjoy the new chapter. I hope there aren't too many mistakes. Please let me know what you think. PLEASE??_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"I'm sorry, baby. It's all they'll let you eat until you're healed," Garcia said. Rather apologetically, the computer analyst pulled the cover off the tray she'd brought.

Peering at it suspiciously, Reid was somewhat underwhelmed by the contents. Jello, pudding, mashed potatoes, shredded ham and pureed vegetables. They were keeping him on a soft food diet. While he was sure it made sense medically to not allow anything hard to pass through his lower bowels it wasn't particularly appetizing.

"I'm sorry," Garcia repeated. She felt terrible but it was the only food they'd allow into the young genius. The doctor hadn't wanted to give him anything but she'd pleaded. While Reid continued to stare at his food, a nurse entered the room and removed his IV. Then she placed a large glass of water and juice down in front of him.

"Be sure to drink these as well, you need the fluids now that the IV has been removed," the nurse said before leaving the room.

"I suppose it won't taste any better cold," Reid muttered. Carefully sitting up as best he could, Reid picked up the fork and quickly spooned some of the potato and ham into his mouth. The smell alone was enough to make him gag but he swallowed it instead. His stomach wouldn't allow anything else. Despite the smell it actually tasted mediocre.

"Is it absolutely terrible?" Garcia asked. Her own nose was wrinkled with distaste. She was suddenly craving a Big Mac or a Whopper. Anything would smell better than this swill.

"Pretty much," Reid admitted between mouthfuls. His body needed nutrition if he was going to start healing properly. Even if it tasted this bad he was going to make sure his body got it. He just wasn't particularly looking forward to the bodily functions the food was going to reawaken. But, the sooner he got feeling better, the sooner he could help the team find Hotch. He felt lost and helpless without his friend, mentor and surrogate father around. He hated the emotions and wanted to exorcise them ASAP. The fastest way to do that was to find Hotch, in one piece.

"We're going to find him, sweetie," Garcia stated as she gently placed her hand on the genius's nearest shoulder. Equally gently, she squeezed lightly on it, trying to reassure him.

"Yeah, I know," Spencer responded automatically. While he ate the food mechanically, Reid began running through the profile he'd created on Mary from the last time she'd held them. There had to be something in there that would help him find his boss, his friend. There had to be.

OOOOO

"I don't believe you," Morgan shouted as he tried once again the reach the woman. At the moment killing her would give him great pleasure. He'd deal with the consequences later.

"Your loss," Mary responded. "Your Agent Reid squealed like a pit, literally."

Mary wasn't sure why she was antagonizing the man, other than the fact that she could. It was amusing as hell to see the team's faces turn red in frustration and anger. She was going to keep it going as long as she could even if it meant she wasn't going to get any pain killers.

"Why, you son of a bitch!" Morgan bellowed as he tried again. By now the Chief and the guard had joined the melee, trying to keep Morgan at bay. Catching hold of the younger, stronger man, Rossi literally dragged him out of the room.

"What are you thinking?!" Rossi demanded once he got Morgan outside. "This isn't helping the situation and it sure as hell isn't going to help find Hotch. Get a hold of yourself."

The words were like cold water on Morgan's mind. Instantly the whole situation reasserted itself. Dave was right, this wasn't helping. Leaning his back against the nearest wall, Morgan took several deep, calming breaths while he forced his body to relax.

"Feeling better?" Rossi asked as he watched the younger man.

"Yeah," Morgan said. He leaned forward and rested his hands on his knees, trying to stop the blood from rushing in his ears. He needed to be calmer, to be able to think clearly. Mary might be a psychopath but she was also intelligent. He had to be smarter if he was going to beat her at her own game.

"Take ten minutes. I don't want you inside the room until the time has elapsed, okay?" Rossi ordered. He understood where Morgan was coming from. Hell, he wanted to rip the woman limb from limb too but it wouldn't help to find Hotch. At the moment Dave's only concern was his boss and friend. The fact that Mary and Doug didn't have him anymore both relieved Rossi and sent waves of terror through his mind. So many things could be happening to Aaron at this very moment. Mentally he shook his head. He didn't have the time to follow that line of thought.

"Okay," Morgan answered. It was going to be the longest ten minutes of his life but Rossi was right. He needed the time to calm down. Moving over to one of the plastic chairs, Morgan sank into it and rested the back of his head against the wall behind him. Closing his eyes, the younger agent tried to still his frantic mind.

Stepping back into the room, Rossi was somewhat relieved to find that Emily was standing at the foot of Mary's bed, her arms crossed over her chest. After Morgan's reaction to the woman he'd almost expected her to be trying to kill Mary was well. He should have known better.

"All right, Mary. Where is Agent Hotchner?" Rossi asked in a calm, controlled voice as he pulled up a chair beside the woman's bed. In a visual inspection of the woman he found that one of her wrists was handcuffed to the bed rail. Good, that was the last thing they needed to be worried about at the moment.

"I don't know what you're talking about. Shouldn't I have a lawyer present before I allow you to ask me questions?" Mary asked, her voice all honey and sweentness.

Convinced that Mary truly was a psychopath, Dave considered how to proceed. At this moment he missed Hotch even more. Usually the two of them came up with the plan of attach. He felt a little lost trying to do it on his own. Morgan's lapse made it harder too because he couldn't bounce ideas off the younger man either.

"If you want a lawyer present we could have a public defender assigned to you but it will only complicate matters. If you help us we might not go for the maximum penalties for your crimes," Emily stated. It was a ploy. She had every intentions of seeing Mary go up for the absolute maximum, but she had to start somewhere.

"You are assuming I know anything about your missing agent. I have no idea what you're talking about," Mary stated.

At this point the Chief stepped in. Hands resting on her gun belt, the woman glared down at Mary. "We have blood in the back of the SUV you were caught driving. It doesn't matter if it's stolen or anything else you claim about it. If that blood comes back as Agent Hotchner's we will have proof that he was inside that vehicle. I suspect we will find other fluids in that thing that belong to both Agent Hotchner and yourself. Tell us what you know. It may go easier on you," the Chief said.

"Well, that was quite the speech," Mary stated, looking the woman up and down. "Too bad I still have no idea what you're talking about. I want my lawyer. Now."

OOOOO

"How's he doing?" Theresa asked as she stepped into the medical center. Despite her best efforts she couldn't get the man off her mind. Visions of the damage he'd suffered kept playing through her mind. He was going to be severely screwed up when he finally did come around.

"As well as can be expected," Thomas replied. He had just finished cleaning the bullet graze and the burn. It had taken a long time and a lot of water but he had them both as clean as he was likely to. Applying an antibiotic cream over both areas, Thomas began to wrap them with clean, white bandages. Carefully, he taped them in place with surgical tape.

"Michael needs you to speak to the council. I'll watch him while you're gone," Theresa suggested. Supper time had come and gone. The entire time she'd sat on the bench at her usual table and stared at the closed door to the center. There was something about the man that just wouldn't leave her alone.

"I have a cool compress on his genitals," Thomas stated. "It should be good for a half hour. Then you'll have to replace it with a new one. Hopefully I won't be gone that long. I'm not sure how thrilled he'd be at knowing a woman was tending him in that way."

"I've all ready seen everything he has to offer. Don't worry, I'm not going to jump his bones before you get back," Theresa responded, a bright smile on her face.

"I didn't expect any less," Thomas replied as he reluctantly stepped out of the room. He trusted Theresa to not abuse the man any worse than he all ready was. What he didn't trust was how well the patient was going to remain stable in his absence. Sighing, he headed over to the main table at the end of the common room.

OOOOO

"How much of a threat is he?" Alice asked as she watched the doctor carefully. The council members had listened to the man's report on his patient. It was obvious that their new arrival had been badly treated but Alice wasn't sure if they were heading for more trouble by keeping him around. Relations with the local police were currently good. The Chief left them alone and they stayed out of trouble. She didn't want to risk that for a complete stranger.

"At the moment, absolutely none. He hasn't woken up since Theresa and Amanda brought him here. He's in pretty bad shape and probably won't be lucid for a number of days. I don't think we have to worry too much about him trying to attack anyone or trying to escape," Thomas stated. Alice was the worrier of the group. She could come up with a multitude of possible bad outcomes, it was her gift.

"Does anyone else have any questions?" Michael asked from the head of the table. He looked at the other members of the council.

"Does he have any diseases that you know about?" Steven asked. He was one of the younger councillors. He'd spent too much time on the mean streets of Philadelphia and had seen far too much. Thomas still had to give him sleeping pills on occasion to help him rest. The memories were intense and troubling.

"No, not so far. I'll have to send a vial or two of blood out to get it tested for all the possibilities. That would cost money. I wasn't sure where the council stood on proceeding with that one," Thomas admitted.

"We'll have to discuss that first. Thank you, Thomas, I'm sure you're eager to get back to your patient. We'll let you know when we've made our final decision," Michael stated. He could tell that the other council members were satisfied with the information they'd all ready been given. Now it was time to decide the man's fate within their ranks.

Nodding his head in acknowledgement, Thomas left the table and headed back to his room. It was a good thing Theresa had volunteered to help. It was going to be a long night keeping watch over their new recruit. As he covered the distance to the wooden door, Thomas supposed he shouldn't think of the man as a recruit, at least not until after the council had made their decision.

On the other side of the door, Thomas found Theresa sitting on a stool beside the bed, wiping the sweat of the man's face with a face cloth. The only position that didn't seem to aggravate his injuries was on his side, his legs drawn up a bit and his arms out in front of him. Thomas had found some loose fitting boxers and loose pyjama pants to put on him. It didn't help with dealing with his injuries but Thomas could swear he saw the man's tight muscles relax marginally as soon as the garments were in place.

"What did they say?" Theresa asked as she looked up at the dark haired man. Thomas's eyes were troubled so she knew things hadn't been sorted out quite yet. But she was hoping that by talking about it the doctor might find some peace for the moment.

"They're still making a decision. How's he doing?" Thomas asked as he picked up his stethoscope and BP cuff. He was going to have to keep a close eye on the man's vital signs, just in case they changed.

"He hasn't woken up yet but he keeps making noises like he's in pain. Isn't there something you can give him?" Theresa asked as she turned her attention back to the man on the table.

"Not really. He has a major head wound. I don't want to complicate things by giving him too many pain killers. The strongest thing he's going to get for a while will be Tylenol," Thomas stated. The BP was the same. Now he moved onto the pulse and respiration.

"That's too bad," Theresa said.

"Did he have any form of identification on him when you found him?" Thomas asked. The man's filthy boxers were all ready in the burning barrel. There was no hope of getting them clean at this point.

"No, nothing. All he was wearing were the boxers. I don't think they come with pockets," Theresa responded.

"It would help if I knew what to call him," Thomas said mostly to himself. He looked down at the battered face. Surely someone was looking for this man. He obviously took good care of himself, well, usually anyway. But then, someone had done this to him as well. Maybe the people looking for him were also the ones that wanted to finish the job. The last thing Thomas did before taking a position on the only other chair in the room was to take Hotch's temperature from the only ear that was available. Damn, he was developing a fever.


	19. Chapter 19

_Thank you, as always for the reviews, I'm very glad you're still enjoying this. Don't worry, though, despite the dire state of Hotch's health in this chapter, I'm not into character death. Well, Mary maybe. ;)_

_Enjoy!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER NINETEEN

"Have you heard anything from the others?" Reid asked. He'd finished his food and while his stomach was happier, he was hankering for something much more substantial. Soon, he promised himself.

"They've reached the hospital but Mary has invoked her right to have a lawyer present. The Trooper who caught her went back to where she'd seen him. He and some other Troopers are trying to find some sign of Hotch. So far there's been nothing," Garcia admitted. Absently, she pulled Reid's sheet up a little higher on his chest. She wanted to make sure he was comfortable. Bringing her hand down, she laid it on top of her bag, the hard lump of her gun brought her reassurance. She also wanted to make sure he was protected.

"He was in pretty rough shape," Reid stated. He was staring at his blankets, picking at the material to keep his hands busy. Images of Hotch after Doug was finished with him kept playing through Reid's mind. If Hotch was out in the open somewhere there was little hope that he was still alive. He'd been too badly hurt to survive the elements.

"Hotch is tough. He'll be all right," Garcia said. She rested her hand on top of Reid's. He looked at her and then allowed his eyes to slide back to the blanket. Unconsciously, he pulled his hand away. He wasn't sure yet how he felt about being touched, especially by a woman. Visions of Mary and her treatment of him kept welling back up.

"I'm not so sure," Reid stated. Not feeling like talking any more, Reid closed his eyes and feigned sleep until sleep stole over him for real.

OOOOO

The Trooper stopped at the rest stop. Parking exactly where he had before, he moved over to where Mary had been parked. Almost immediately he noticed the foot prints in the mud. The fact the one of the two pairs of feet was barefoot gave him hope. At this time of year, a person wouldn't run around without shoes unless they were desperate.

Thanks to his training, it didn't take the Trooper long to follow Hotch's trail. He noticed a few times that the smaller shoe prints crossed the man's but they never seemed to follow them. Finally, he came up to the side of the highway. Looking down he found a small pool of drying blood. It was still tacky to the touch, but just barely. Keying his mike, the Trooper informed dispatch what he'd found.

OOOOO

"When will the lawyer get here?" Morgan asked. He was standing in the waiting area, trying to keep from pacing. He knew the others were worried about him, of what he might do, so he was trying to keep his agitation to a minimum.

"A Public Defender is on the way. He should get here within ten minutes. Then they will have to have time to consult. We could be waiting for the better part of the day," Rossi admitted. He'd chosen a seat in the waiting area. He was feeling very tired. At this point he wasn't sure if Hotch was still alive. Fear was trying to take over. The continual fight to keep the fear from interfering with his thought processes was wearing him down.

"Can the doctors tell us anything that might give us an idea of where Hotch is?" Emily asked. She was leaning against the door. She knew that people didn't move around without picking up bits of the world around them. She was hoping that there might be evidence on the woman's clothes or body that would at least give them an idea of where to start.

"Her clothes have been collected as evidence. The CSI's have them," Morgan stated. He'd heard the Chief tell one of her officers that. Further discussion was pre-empted by Rossi's cell phone ringing. Taking it out of his pocket, Rossi answered it, listening intently and asked a few pointed questions. Then he disconnected the call.

"The Trooper has found a blood stain on the side of the highway by the rest stop. The CSI's are there now collecting samples but it's a fair bet it belongs to Hotch. The blood in the back of Mary's vehicle is dry, this isn't. That means the blood stain on the road is newer than the ones in her car. That leads me to believe that she lost Hotch. She didn't have him in her vehicle when she crashed but there wasn't enough time for her to stash him," Rossi stated.

"Are you suggesting someone picked him up off the side of the road?" Emily asked. The thought was sobering. If a Good Samaritan had picked him up, they would have taken the injured man to the hospital. They had alerts out at all of the area hospitals and medical clinics and no one had contacted them. Or, the Good Samaritan should have called 911. The fact that neither situation had arisen suggested a less benevolent alternative.

"We won't know for sure until the blood sample is run against his but it's looking that way," Rossi stated. He was sitting a little lower in the chair.

"If Hotch was taken to a hospital or medical center we would have been notified. Do you suppose someone picked him up and took him home with them?" Morgan asked. Visions of the type of person that would do that floated through his mind. Hotch might be in even more danger. There were a lot of mentally disturbed people in these rural areas. There were a lot of good people too, he had to remind himself.

"It's a possibility," Rossi said. The Chief entered the waiting area, two officers trailing behind her.

"So far it's looking like the blood belongs to your agent. The blood types are the same," the Chief stated as she looked around at the BAU members.

"If someone picked him up on the side of the road but didn't take him to a recognized medical facility, are there unrecognized facilities around here?" Rossi asked.

"Not that I'm aware of. There are a couple of militia type groups around but they keep pretty much to themselves. I don't have enough men to try to take them on so unless they cause problems we pretty much leave them alone," she stated.

"How many groups are we talking about and how big are they?" Morgan wanted to know.

"There's maybe a dozen of them all together. A few of them are just a family or two that live off the grid, not wanting the government in their business. Two or three of them are on a much bigger scale with compounds and such. But like I said, they don't cause any problems. They live their lives and leave us to live ours," the Chief stated.

"Do these groups travel on the highways? Is there a chance that one of them found Hotch and took him back to their home?" Rossi asked.

"Some of them still work in the closest towns so yeah, they travel the highways. As far as taking your agent home, if he looks anything like the other one, they might. Most of them don't like the government and assume if someone's been beaten it's the government's fault," the Chief stated.

"Yeah, we know these types of militia groups all too well," Morgan stated. It was beginning to seem hopeless. If one of these groups had Hotch they might never give him up. If they found out that Hotch was an FBI agent, there was a good chance that they might kill him and bury him on their lands somewhere. At least he could be grateful that Reid had been found. There was that to hold onto if this went south.

"I'll send some feelers out to the people I know who stay at the compounds. If we go in there and try to search them it would end up as a blood bath," the Chief said. Nodding at the agents, she turned and left the waiting room. This was going to have to be handled with kid gloves. She wasn't looking forward to it.

OOOOO

It felt like his skin was on fire and yet Hotch was freezing cold. It didn't make sense and he was too weak and incoherent to figure out the paradox. His teeth chattered to the point he was afraid they'd crack but he couldn't do anything to stop it. Hotch could feel something hard under him which sent stabbing pains through his back end but he couldn't move to relieve the pressure. His back was also against something hard, irritating mildly the cuts along his skin but again he was too weak to do anything about it. He couldn't even open his eyes to see where the hell he was. For all Hotch knew he was on fire or in a freezing cold river.

Sluggishly, Hotch tried to remember where he was. Nothing came to mind. He tried to figure out why he was in so much pain and in so many places. Nothing came to mind. Hotch tried to remember his name. Nothing came to mind. Exhausted beyond imagining, Hotch allowed the darkness of his eyes to enfold him and drag him back into the warm, safe depths.

OOOOO

"Is this really necessary?" Theresa asked. She had helped Thomas put their charge in a tub of lukewarm water. The man's fever had gotten worse. They had run out of options and resorted to the basest means of reducing his temperature. Under her hands, Theresa could feel the man shaking with cold and yet his skin was hot to the touch.

"Would you rather he died? That's the only other option open to us at the moment," Thomas responded. He had a metal dipper and was pouring water over top of his head, shoulders and chest. The tub was too small. He couldn't submerge the man's entire body into it. He'd thought about taking him to the river but that was outside the compound. At the moment he wasn't willing to chance that. If this didn't work within the next two hours, he'd have to rethink his decision.

"No, of course not. I don't want him to die. If I had, I would have let him on the side of the road," Theresa grated. She had a face cloth and was running the water over his skin as well. She was grateful that Thomas had left his underwear on. She'd all ready seen far too much of the man.

"Isn't this contaminating his wounds?" Theresa asked. She couldn't help it. The words just kept spilling out. She talked too much when she was upset or nervous.

"Probably but I'm more worried about getting the fever down at the moment. I'll deal with the other things if we keep him alive for the night," Thomas responded. He slipped an ear thermometer into the man's nearest ear. He was relieved to see that the temperature hadn't increased. For the moment he was holding his own. Only the night would tell if that continued.


	20. Chapter 20

_Yeah, I know, this one's a little short. It's the best I can do tonight. Hope you don't mind! It was either a short one or waiting until tomorrow when I might have time to add to it. I haven't had any reviews for a day or so, so guess which option I chose. ;) I hope you like it!_

_Susanne_

_Disclaimer: Since I haven't done this for a while, I own only my original characters, Mary, Doug, Rachel, Thomas, Michael, Theresa, Amanda and now Ryan. The others belong to someone else. I just needed to use them for a little while._

_This is a beta free zone. When I get the chance I do try to fix my mistakes but I don't always. Sorry!!_

CHAPTER TWENTY

Hotch was dreaming. They weren't pleasant dreams. A man was forcing himself on him, into his body. The pain was beyond imagining. The humiliation was even worse. The shame was somewhere in between but he didn't really want to think about that. Hotch struggled as hard as he could, despite his hands being secured and his legs. He could feel his skin tearing on his wrists, ankles and inside from the assault. Darkness descended.

Theresa watched as the man moaned and thrashed. She knew he was dreaming about something horrible. She wasn't sure if she should wake him and Thomas had gone to rest for a while, leaving her in charge. Sitting beside the exam table, Theresa reached out to touch Hotch's shoulder only to stop at the last minute. A quiet moan issued from Hotch's partially opened mouth. A thin stream of vomit followed.

"Don't you die on me," Theresa whispered. With one of the damp clothes she'd been using on his forehead, she wiped at the bile. A grimace crossed her face. This was really gross. She almost wished he was back in the bathtub. At least she had something interesting to look at while he was in there. Silently Theresa chastised herself. The man had been through enough, he didn't need to be ogled by his caregivers. But damn he was fun to look at.

"So, who are you?" Theresa asked aloud. She was bored, watching the man thrash around got old fast. She still wasn't sure if she should wake him up. A particularly loud groan set her nerves on edge. What the hell was going on inside his head? Theresa wasn't sure she really wanted to know. She had enough horror stories of her own.

Suddenly the man's dark eyes flew open and came to rest on Theresa's face. She saw fear, horror and shame within those brown depths. It was an expression of the soul she was all too familiar with. Gritting her teeth, she tried to not shy away from the man.

"Who are you?" Theresa asked when she was sure that the man was going to stay awake, hopefully long enough to answer the question.

"I'm not sure," Hotch stated. Images were assaulting his senses but he couldn't quite made sense of them. He stared at the woman sitting beside his bed. She didn't even look vaguely familiar. Should he be afraid of her? He just wasn't sure. "Where am I?"

"At our compound," Theresa responded. She knew that wasn't particularly helpful but it was all she was willing to say. The Council still had to make a decision about him. They'd just put it off until they knew enough about him. "Don't know you who you are?"

"Ah," Hotch said as more images flashed. None of them were particularly helpful. In fact, seeing an image of a thin, dark haired young man made him very distressed. Could the man be a relative? A son? That didn't quite seem to fit. But then, at the moment, nothing did. "No."

"Is this for real or are you in trouble and trying to hide?" Theresa pressed. If the man really did have amnesia, that was either good or bad for him. She just wasn't sure which.

"I'm not sure," Hotch said again. It seemed to be the only accurate answer at the moment. His injuries were screaming at him. For the life of him, Hotch couldn't figure out what he had been doing that would make him hurt this badly. Desperate the relieve some of the discomfort, he tried a new position, it only made him feel worse. Darkness was moving into the corners of his vision. It seemed like the best alternative. Closing his eyes, Hotch gave into the pain and darkness.

"Great. He's unconscious again," Theresa muttered to herself as she watched his body go completely slack. "Well that was informative."

OOOOO

It was the same dream again. It left Reid feeling small, helpless and dirty. Gulping air, he forced his eyes open to find Penelope looking at him with great concern. Self conscious, he let his eyes slide down to the blanket that was wrapped around his legs. Apparently he'd been struggling a little bit while dreaming of Doug raping him again. Shame turned his cheeks a bright red.

"Oh, it's okay, sweetie," Penelope said as she reached out and gently pushed Reid's hair out of his eyes. The young genius really did need to get a haircut but she wasn't going to be the one to suggest it. She kind of liked his hair long and shaggy. It added to his little kid impression. "There's nothing to be embarrassed about."

"I'm tired of feeling that bastard rape me," Reid grated out. He wasn't even sure Garcia knew about his ultimate humiliation but he was too frustrated to care. Angrily, he pulled at the blankets, trying to release his legs. He hated feeling like he was tied up in any way. It reminded him too much of lying in the tub, waiting to die.

"I'm sure it'll pass, just give it time," Garcia responded. It was the only thing she could think to say. She'd know that Doug West had done terribly things to the younger man but she wasn't sure she'd allowed herself to consider rape. Having Reid say it out loud made it all too true. Sadness grew in her heart and mind. That emotion was followed very quickly by anger. How dare he? She wanted to find the bastard and shoot him in the groin so he would never do that again.

"I see it and feel it every time I close my eyes. I don't know if I can wait that long," Reid admitted, his legs finally free. Catching hold of the blanket, Garcia helped to put it right. Then she pulled it up over him and tucked it in under his chin. Gently, she slipped her finger under Reid's chin and forced him to look at her.

"None of this was your fault, Reid. You know that right? Doug West is a sick son of a bitch and deserves to fry for what he did to you and Hotch. Him and his sister Mary both deserve to rot in jail for the rest of their lives," Penelope said. While one hand held Reid's chin, the other ran through his too long hair, trying to soothe him.

"Despite all of the charges that the two of them will be brought up on, realistically it is very unlikely that either of them will spend the rest of their lives in jail. They will probably be out in a few years," Reid stated. Based on precedence, Reid could have cited the exact number of days the two Wests would spend in jail but it was too depressing to think about. Besides, he didn't think Penelope would really appreciate knowing.

"Don't think about stuff like that, Spencer. All you need to worry about right now is getting better," Penelope stated. She'd decided to change the subject. She could see the depression almost settle on his boney shoulders. All she wanted to do was hold him and make it all better. But that wasn't a real possibility at the moment. She'd seen how Reid had responded to her earlier attempts to touch him.

"Physically I'll heal," Reid said. He tried to pull his head away from Penelope's grasp but she wouldn't let him. Seeing the pain and fear burning so brightly in Reid's brown eyes, she couldn't stand it any longer.

"I'm sorry," Garcia breathed as she pulled Reid toward her and wrapped her arms around his thin body. At first Reid stiffened as feelings of fear, disgust, and self loathing spiked through his mind. He started to tremble as the emotions threatened to overwhelm him. Taking a deep breath, Reid carefully laid his head on Garcia's shoulder and relaxed. The tears came unbidden.

OOOOO

"My client does not want to speak to you," the Public Defender stated as he stepped into the waiting room. The young man looked a little harried. This wasn't what he'd tried to council the woman to do but she was adamant.

"That's too bad," Morgan growled as he advanced on the shorter man. He had no intentions of hurting the man. He just wanted to menace him a little. "We need to talk to her about the whereabouts of one of our agents."

"I'm aware of the situation but she refuses. I can go in there while you try to interrogate her but it's not going to accomplish anything," the PD said. He looked Derek in the eye. The older man was trying to stare him down but Ryan was used to dealing with Alpha males. He simply stared back.

"We want to interrogate her. You can come if you want," Rossi stated. He'd had enough of the sitting around waiting. Every hour that passed increased his worry for his friend. At this point he was willing to let Morgan beat the woman into oblivion, whatever it took.

"Be my guest," Ryan stated as he stepped back out of the doorway. This was going to be interesting.


	21. Chapter 21

_Yeay!! I actually managed to get this out! I'm really sorry that it's taken me so long to update this. I hope to do better once the Christmas rush lets up. That should be by the end of next week, right? Anyway, thank you ever so much to everyone who has taken the time to review my stories. I love hearing from each and every one of you. Someday I'll take the time to reply to the reviews. Maybe once I'm done the story, right?_

_Enjoy!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY ONE

The BAU members marched into the hospital room. Rossi wasn't sure he was going to be able to control Derek once the interview began. Rossi wasn't sure he wanted to. Pacing to the back of the room, Rossi turned to face the woman on the bed. She was looking between Derek and Emily, arrogance oozing from every pore.

"I told my lawyer that I don't want to talk to you," Mary stated with finality. She crossed her arms over her chest and set her mouth in a tight line. Clearly she wasn't going to go down easily.

"Yeah, we know," Derek responded as he moved up beside the bed. Emily took up a position on the other side of the bed. She crossed her arms over her chest, almost mirroring the woman. "But we want to ask you a few questions anyway. If we don't like your answers the consequences might be severe."

"You can't hurt me," Mary stated.

"After what you and your brother have done to our friends, regular protocols no longer apply," Derek said as he took another step toward the bed. He was practically bending over her legs. Instinctively, Mary tried to kick out at the man. Angrily, Derek caught her leg under the blanket and forced it back down to the bed. "I wouldn't do that if I were you."

"You can't hurt me," Mary said again but the earlier confidence was gone from her voice. The woman's brown eyes flickered from Derek's menacing face to her lawyer leaning against the door jam. Whether the lawyer would interfere on her behalf was questionable at the moment.

"Are you really willing to take the chance?" Derek growled. He still had hold of the woman's calf. Unconsciously, he was applying a fair amount of pressure on the limb. Mary was sure she was going to have five perfectly formed bruises there if she didn't do something quickly.

Looking between the three BAU members and her lawyer, Mary came to a decision. As much fun as she was having tormenting them, it wasn't worth getting hurt over. She was going to need to be in top shape when she wound up in jail.

"Fine," Mary growled, turning her attention back to Morgan. "I don't know where your precious Agent Hotchner is. The last time I saw him was at the turnout. When the Trooper woke me up, he was gone. I have no idea where he went."

"I don't believe you," Morgan grated. Suddenly aware of how tight his grip was on the woman's leg, he released his fingers and let his hand drop to his side. What he really wanted to do was beat the woman into a pulp. Four or five times. It was the least she deserved.

"It's the truth. He got away. He couldn't have gotten very far on his own, though. He really wasn't in very good shape," Mary stated, a small smile playing across her face at the last sentence. Seeing the darkening of Morgan's countenance, she knew she'd made a mistake. A mask fell over her features.

"What did you do to him?" Rossi demanded. He'd stepped forward. He believed the woman and was terrified for his friend. Based on the shape of Reid had been in when they found him, Hotch was going to be in similar shape, of that he was sure. They really needed to find him, quickly.

"Do you really want specifics?" Mary asked, the slight smile back again.

"I have to advise against that," Ryan said as he stepped into the room. The agents had gotten all they were going to get out of her. What she'd said so far could be denied. She hadn't been read her rights and so could not be held accountable. He'd considered pointing this fact out to the agents. In their distraught conditions, they hadn't planned that far ahead. While surprising, given the expertise of the team, Ryan had had to consider his client's best interests, not theirs.

"This interview is over," Ryan stated as he faced off with Morgan. "She's told you all you need to know at the moment."

Clearly the younger man was ready to press the point but Rossi caught hold of Morgan's nearest arm and moved him toward the door. Quietly, Emily followed behind as well. There was something about the lawyer's demeanour that made her nervous. It was like he knew something that they didn't but should. Then it hit her.

"Shit," Emily swore once they reached the hallway.

"What?" Morgan asked looking a little calmer but also slightly baffled.

"We didn't read her her rights. None of what she just said can be used against her in court," Emily breathed. She felt the need to go back into the room and beat the crap out of the woman too.

"Shit," Morgan swore. Instinctively, he turned back toward the hospital room door. Rossi caught hold of him again and pulled him toward the front door of the hospital.

"The trial is the least of our worries right now. We need to find Hotch. The trial will have to take care of itself," Rossi said. Despite his words, Rossi felt anger welling up in his mind and body. Damn her to hell.

OOOOO

Thomas had come back to the medical center. He looked about the same but Theresa knew he'd taken some time to rest. She was thrilled to see him. She was quickly becoming bored watching the man thrash around and moan. Since there was nothing she could do to help him, she found listening to the sounds he made very tedious and unnerving.

"Thanks," Thomas stated as he stepped up beside the exam table, caught hold of Hotch's nearest arm and began to take his pulse.

"No problem. He was awake for a few moments but he says he doesn't remember anything. I'm not sure if I believe him but for now he still doesn't have a name," Theresa stated as she vacated the chair and headed toward the door. She was going to get a little sleep herself before heading out to the garden and doing some weeding. Using a hoe to chop the heads off the weeds was very therapeutic for her.

"Amnesia, huh?" Thomas responded. He was shining a pen light into the man's eyes to check his papillary response. While the one eye seemed slightly sluggish beyond the darkening bruise on the man's temple, there wasn't enough of a difference to get too concerned. Not yet anyway.

"Yeah, apparently," Theresa stated. Then she was through the door.

"Great, like you needed more problems," Thomas said quietly as he finished his examination. While some of the man's injuries were worsening, like the bruises, his vital signs were relatively stable. At this point, that was the best the medic could hope for. Sighing, Thomas moved over to the cupboard along the nearest wall and began pulling down vials. It was time to be a little more aggressive with the man's treatment.

OOOOO

Feeling about as useless as tits on a board, Reid tried to adjust his position on the bed. He hated this bed. He hated this hospital room. Damn but he wanted to get back out in the field and help find Hotch. The fact that the others hadn't found his boss and friend was deeply troubling to the young profiler. As much as he believed in his fellow profilers' abilities, Reid knew that what they needed to find Hotch was him.

With a mild curse, Reid forced himself into a seated position. Penelope had left the room to answer her cell phone. Reid knew that meant that she was getting an update on the search for Hotch and that things weren't going well. Otherwise she would have stayed inside the room and shared the news with him. Grunting against the pain that assailed his body and mind, Reid swung both of his legs off the side of the bed and tried to stand up.

The ground came up to meet Reid in a heartbeat. As soon as he'd tried to put any weight on his injured leg, the limb had crumpled underneath him. Gasping on the floor, Reid waited for the pain and nausea that had reared its ugly head to pass. The pale blue hospital gown he'd been wearing had somehow managed to pull up around Reid's waist. He was intensely aware of the fact that he was naked from the waist down but he couldn't do anything at the moment to change that. Luckily, while he lay there, the thin sheet that had been on his bed came floating down over top of his sprawled body.

"Oh my God, Reid," Penelope cried when she came into the room. All she could really see in the mound on the floor was a jumble of limbs. Reid really was too damned skinny. "Do you want me to call the nurse?"

"No," Reid managed. "Help me get back into bed."

So much for getting back into the field any time soon, Reid grumbled to himself. As carefully as she could manage, Garcia unwound Reid's limbs and gently pulled him to a roughly vertical position. Immediately, she slid him onto the bed. She knew she should call the nurse, Reid might have injured himself in the tumble but she wasn't willing to risk further humiliating the younger man. He'd been through enough of that all ready.

"What did Rossi say?" Reid asked once he was settled back onto the bed and the blanket back in place. He was trying to keep from throwing up all over the blond haired woman. The longer he remained stationary, the more the feeling seemed to abate. He was hoping that by distracting Garcia that she wouldn't notice how green he probably was.

"Nothing good," Garcia admitted as she held a glass of water with a straw in it up to Reid's mouth. She'd noticed the pallor of his usually pale skin and was hoping water would help. She waited for Reid to take a couple of sips before continuing. "They talked to Mary. She says that Hotch escaped and she has no idea where he is. They are heading out with the Chief to check out some of the compounds in the area. With any luck we'll have Hotch here in a little while."

"Sure," Reid responded. He knew the woman was trying to make him feel better. Realistically he knew that by now Hotch was probably dead.


	22. Chapter 22

_Merry Christmas every one!!!(That may not be PC but it's what I celebrate so I figure it's the only holiday I can speak about from experience) I plan to have another update soon but just in case I want to cover my bases. I'm so very sorry this has taken me so long. Things are starting to slow down a little so I should be able to spend more time writing. I hope so anyway._

_Once again, thank you ever so much to all my faithful reviewers. I'd write even if no one reviewed but it definitely helps to keep me interested. I have the bad habit of starting stories and then not finishing them. Since joining fanfiction that hasn't been a problem. It's different when you know people are waiting for you!!!!_

_I hope you all drink too much egg nog, eat far too much, spend too much time with family and have far too much fun over the holidays. I know I plan to, especially with the arrival of my great niece. I'm not taking anything for granted this time!!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY TWO

It had been a week, a very long and frustrating week. The only good news was that Reid was being released from the hospital. Rossi and Garcia were there to get him while Emily and Morgan continued the search. Strauss was getting a little frustrated as well that the team was still considered unavailable. She had several cases that required their attention. To make up for the absence of the rest of the team, J.J. had returned to Quantico to work through the stacks of files their office continued to receive. At least she could tell them which cases were imperative and which could wait. Then they would be passed on to the other teams.

Glumly, Reid allowed the nurse to settle him into a wheel chair. He had his go bag sitting in his lap and a set of crutches clutched awkwardly in one hand. He'd had to fight tooth and nail to be released. Even then, he was supposed to go home and spend the next several weeks recuperating and attending physical therapy and regular therapy sessions. There wasn't a hope in hell of that happening until he knew where Hotch was.

"Here are your medications, Dr. Reid, as well as the instructions for taking them. There is also a list of your scheduled appointments. Please make sure you go to them, they could be the difference between a full recovery or not," the nurse instructed as she slipped a large manila envelope into the stash on his lap. She quite liked the young profiler and was going to miss seeing him every day, even if his sense of humour had vanished in the last few days.

"Thank you," Reid answered automatically. All he wanted to do was get the hell out of this place and join the search for Hotch. The others were going to have to drug him to keep him at home. Given his history with drug abuse, he was hoping things wouldn't resort to that extreme. "Is someone here to pick me up?"

"Yes, Agent Rossi and Ms. Garcia are downstairs by the front entrance," the nurse stated. Without further adieu, she began pushing the slight young man down the hallway toward the elevators.

Impatiently, Reid sat in the chair, trying to ignore the ache from his hip and leg. The fact that both injuries reacted badly to the wheelchair was one of the only reasons the doctors had agreed to let him use crutches. Otherwise he would have had to endure the continued mortification of allowing his team mates push him around in one of these contraptions. Fiddling with the envelope the nurse had given him, Reid tried to contain his impatience. He wasn't very successful. Unconsciously, Spencer shifted in the seat of the chair, trying to relieve some of the pressure. It didn't really help.

Finally, the elevator door opened onto the main floor and the nurse was pushing him toward the front doors of the hospital. Like a dream, Reid watched as Rossi and Penelope moved over to take him from the nurse.

"Thank you," Garcia said as she took control of the wheelchair. She smiled down at Reid before pushing him toward the doors. The waves of impatience were practically rolling off the young man. If the circumstances had been different it would have almost been funny. "How are you feeling?"

"Fine, just get me out of here," Reid responded. He was leaning forward slightly in the chair, as if this would get him to the door faster. Damn he hated hospitals.

"Strauss told us to take you home," Rossi stated as he fell in beside the wheelchair, relieving Spencer of the bag in his lap. The young man looked decidedly uncomfortable, he was hoping that taking some of the weight off him would help.

"Where are Emily and Morgan?" Reid countered. He looked up at Rossi. There was a small smile playing across the older man's lips. That increased Reid's level of frustration. The last thing he needed at the moment was to be placated.

"They are researching the largest of the compounds. The compound residents are becoming a little less friendly but so far they're cooperating," Rossi stated. He'd seen the flash of anger in the younger man's eyes and schooled his face to a more neutral expression. "We're supposed to have you in your apartment by tonight."

"I'm not going home," Reid stated. They'd reached the outside. Taking a huge breath, Reid revelled in the lack of chemicals in the air. It had been far too long since he'd been out in the fresh air. "Let's go to the compound."

"That's not going to happen, Reid. I can't take you out in the field," Rossi replied. Garcia was staying out of this conversation. Silently, she pushed the wheelchair up to the SUV parked in the loading zone and placed it behind the rear passenger door. Angrily, Reid tried to stand up, ignoring his crutches. He was okay while he kept his weight on the uninjured leg, but as soon as he tried to shift his position so he could climb into the seat unaided, his injured leg crumpled.

As soon as Reid had climbed out of the wheelchair, Garcia had pulled it out of the way. She'd seen this before. Rossi stepped it and managed to catch Reid under his arms and keep him from reaching the ground. "I'm fine," Reid growled as he tried to pull away from the older man.

"Yeah, I can tell," Rossi said. Gently, he helped Spencer get situated in the seat. "I'm not taking you home but I'm not taking you out in the field either. We're headed for the local PD station where our headquarters is set up. You can help from there."

An angry retort came to mind. But riding the waves of pain flashing through his thigh, Spencer looked at the older man and then simply nodded his head. Rossi was right. As much as he wanted to be out in the field, he'd be nothing but a distraction and hindrance. That was the last thing they needed right now.

"Make yourself comfortable," Rossi stated as he slid into the driver's seat. "We are in for a long drive."

OOOOO

"How many times does this make?" Emily stated. She knew the answer but it was either that or screaming. It had been a week. They should have found Hotch by now or at least some sign of their Unit Chief. Morgan was standing a few feet away from her. The two of them and a group of six Troopers had just searched the compound, again.

All around them the members of the compound went about their daily lives. Some tended the large gardens that took up about a quarter of the area, while others tended to daily chores such as cooking, cleaning and laundry. Those people not working on compound business were in the large garage near the front of the compound. It was one of the ways they had to make money. They were the best mechanics for miles.

"Don't ask," Morgan responded. The last week had been the week from hell. It was even worse than when Reid had been kidnapped by Henkel. At least then they'd seen Reid on the computer screen and knew he was alive. Right now, the agent wasn't sure if they were looking for a friend or a body. "You're sure we've checked out every building on this property?"

The senior Trooper stepped forward and nodded his head. "Yes, sir, we used the aerial photos supplied by your technician. There are no other visible structures within the compound walls."

"What about invisible structures?" Morgan pressed.

"No, sir, I'm sorry. We've walked every inch between the property lines. There's no place where they could be hiding someone. Besides, why would they? We've all ready told them that the person we're looking for is a federal agent. None of these people would be willing to hide him after hearing that," he stated.

"You're right," Morgan admitted. His hands on his hips, Morgan allowed his head to hang for a few moments. Then, with a sigh, he turned toward the vehicles they'd arrived in. "Let's get going."

OOOOO

"How are you feeling today?" Thomas asked as he walked into the room. Their guest had been moved out of the health center into one of the residences. He was still very weak but no longer in danger of dying. At least Thomas hoped so.

The male residence looked very much like a large boot camp dorm. It consisted of a large open area with metal cots standing out perpendicular from the walls. Each bed was made and empty except for the one Hotch laid in. Beside each bed was a small shelf in which personal objects were kept as well as a trunk at the foot of each bed. At the far end of the residence was a bathroom that had multiple stalls, urinals, sinks and showers, again just like in boot camp.

Windows were everywhere. While the residence looked like it was from a boot camp, they didn't want it to feel like one. The windows were uncovered with the first rays of sunlight and closed as the sun went down. It gave the place a bit of an airy feel despite the Spartan surroundings. It helped to lighten the rough wood walls.

"Sore," Aaron stated. After the second day, they'd made him move off of his only side that didn't hurt. Thomas has been concerned about bed sores and muscle atrophy. While necessary, the whole process hurt like hell. The light angling in from the window above his bed left him blinking to adjust his eyes.

"I bet," Thomas responded. Moving over beside the bed where Aaron was spread out on, he began taking the other man's vital signs. The infection was under control, thanks to antibiotics, but they were running low on the medication. It wasn't like they could just go to the local pharmacy and pick some up. And the members could only fake illnesses so many times before the local doctors became suspicious. Luckily, Tylenol was readily available.

"What are your plans for the day?" Thomas asked as he continued his examination. He placed the end of his stethoscope against Aaron's chest to listen to his heart and lungs. His blood pressure and pulse were good but it never hurt to be too thorough.

"Sleeping sounds good right now," Aaron stated. He had absolutely no ambition to get out of bed. Every time he tried some other injury made itself known. Besides, when he slept he saw flashes of things. He assumed they were memories but there was no context and they seemed to blend together. Still, there was the distant hope that Aaron might figure out who he was while the images played through his mind.

"I think you've had enough sleep. Today might be a good day to go outside for some fresh air," Thomas suggested. As he watched, Aaron shifted, trying to find a different position. A grimace passed over his face. "It would do your body good to be vertical for a while."

The idea of standing up really didn't sit well. Aaron was having enough trouble sitting for any period of time. It might have to do with the pain that flashed through his back end or the anxiety that flowed through his system as the sensation registered. All in all, Aaron preferred to stay right where he was.

"I'd rather not," Aaron responded. Settling back into the bed, he struggled to find a position that didn't hurt. He couldn't find one. Finally, he settled for the position that didn't hurt as much.

"I'm not giving you a choice," Thomas said with a smile. He hated to do it to the man. He knew from the injuries that he'd found that the man had been abused in the worst sense of the word. But, allowing him to stay in bed wasn't going to help him much either. Carefully, he pulled the blankets away from the man's prone body. He looked thinner since he'd arrived at their gate. His limbs kind of swam in the flannel pyjamas Thomas had insisted he wear. The last thing he wanted was for Aaron to catch a chill.

Giving in, Aaron allowed the blond doctor to pull him into a sitting position. Today the stabbing pain in his back end wasn't quite as intense. Even the accompanying images were a little fuzzier, less graphic and defined. He was only there for a moment before Thomas guided him the rest of the way to his feet.

As soon as Hotch reached an upright position, his body protested. Thomas had to catch him, to keep him from collapsing entirely. Sweat broke out on Hotch's brow and all of the colour drained from his face as he clutched at the doctor.

"I know it's bad," Thomas said as he waited for the man to get his 'sea legs'. "But it's only going to get worse if you stay in bed."

Hotch didn't bother to reply as his world tilted crazily for several seconds. Swallowing rapidly, Hotch managed to not throw up, but just barely. He had to force his eyes closed because it seemed to help a little. Breathing heavily, he tried to get control of his body again. He was only standing up. Why was this so damned hard?

Behind his closed eye lids, images began appearing. They passed by so quickly that Hotch barely had a chance to recognize what was showing up before a new image came to the fore. There was a lot of blood and violence. From what he was seeing, Hotch didn't think all of what he was seeing had been done to him. There were mutilated bodies of men and women. There was one person in particular that kept emerging. He was younger than Hotch with brown hair and eyes, a thin earnest face. There was an innocence about him and an intelligence that seemed to shine through as well. When these images came, Hotch felt like he had been slugged in the stomach.

"Are you all right?" Thomas asked as he watched Hotch struggle. He could tell the man was dealing with nausea and probably a bit of vertigo but there was something else going on here as well. The man had begun to shake. Thomas wasn't sure if it was from fatigue or emotion. Concerned, he guided Hotch back down to the bed and helped him settle on his right side.

Still Hotch's eyes stayed closed and his breathing was hitched. The shaking continued as Hotch's eyes moved rapidly under his eye lids. The images were coming faster, harder. They were still unclear and in disorder. He wasn't sure what was real and what was from his dreams. At the moment, all he wanted it to do was stop. Unconsciously, he curled up into a fetal position. All he wanted it to do was stop.


	23. Chapter 23

_Hello! No, I haven't forgotten about my stories. I'm shamefully behind on my updates and I'm very, very sorry. Now that New Years is almost out of the way, I should be better. I hope. _

_Enjoy the new chapter. I promise things will progress a little more in the next chapter, which won't take two weeks to be posted, honest. _

_Happy New Year! I hope you all had a great holiday season. I know I did!!!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY THREE

An hour and a half into the trip, Reid couldn't stand it anymore. The pain from his hip and thigh had intensified with each passing minute he'd sat in the vehicle. The bouncing of the tires over the pavement and the occasional jostling from pot holes or ruts didn't help matters much either. It felt almost as bad as when the two areas were initially injured. He found it very hard to believe the doctors when they assured him they were healing properly.

"Can we please stop?" Reid asked. He tried very hard to hide the pain that was burning through him. If the others became too concerned about his health they'd insist on sending him home. That wasn't something he was willing to let happen. For just a brief moment, Reid wished he'd let the doctors prescribe him stronger pain killers. Tylenol and ibuprofen were just not doing the job.

"There's a gas station about ten miles ahead. Will that do?" Garcia asked. She glanced over her shoulder at the younger man in the back seat. She could see his drawn, pale face and the thin sheen of sweat that had broken out on the skin. This was obviously harder for him than he was willing to admit.

"Yeah," Reid responded. "That's great. Thanks."

Well aware of Penelope's eyes on him, Reid carefully turned toward the window. He wasn't being sent home to where he couldn't help the search for Hotch. It had been too long all ready. They needed to find him ASAP. Realizing that looking out the window wasn't really a productive use of his time. Reid pulled out the case file and began reading. Maybe it would help to distract him from the pain. The photos of the cabin and the house were there, suddenly, in front of him. Images of his own began to superimpose themselves over the photographs. Gulping back fear and bile, Reid ignored the voices in the back of his head and turned to the text portion of file.

"How's he doing?" Rossi asked quietly from the driver's seat. He had tried to keep an eye on Spencer but was afraid he'd put the vehicle in the ditch. Besides, he didn't want to make it too obvious how concerned he was. With everything the young genius had been through, he didn't need the team hovering over him too.

"He needs a break," Garcia responded. She'd turned back to the front. It didn't take a genius to know Reid wouldn't let them send him home. She just hoped he wasn't trying to take on too much too soon. Doug had done too much to him. The mere thought of Mr. West and what he'd done to Reid, and from all reports Hotch, set her blood boiling. The bastard deserved to die a slow and painful death.

"I was thinking the same thing," Rossi stated. He pressed down on the accelerator just a little bit harder. The sooner they got Reid up and around, the sooner they could get back on the road.

OOOOO

Thomas hadn't given up. He knew that Hotch would get better faster if he got active again. As much as the man preferred to stay in bed, Thomas wasn't going to let that happen. After letting Aaron rest for an hour or so, he came back into the bunk house.

"Are you ready to go get some lunch?" Thomas asked as he moved over to Aaron's bed. The man was paler than he'd been before and his face was more drawn but when he looked up at him, Thomas found that his eyes were bright and alert.

"I'm feeling a bit hungry," Aaron admitted. He knew what the doctor wanted. He'd spent the last hour thinking about it, once the panic had passed, once he'd been able to think a little clearer. He'd decided that he wasn't going to lay here, as much as the thought appealed to him. Lying in bed was only going to make him weaker, more vulnerable. He'd had enough of feeling vulnerable and afraid. Despite his amnesia, Aaron knew intuitively that there had been far too much of the two emotions in his life of late.

"That's good. It shows you're starting to heal. How about I help you across the yard to the eating hall?" Thomas suggested. It was a rather rhetorical question, as he was all ready reaching down to help Aaron up into a seated position.

"What's for lunch?" Aaron asked. It seemed like the most obvious question and it helped to keep his mind off the complaints of his body as Thomas pulled him up to his feet. Despite his best efforts, though, the world around him tilted crazily and refused to return to an even keel. Instantly shaking from exertion, Hotch leaned heavily into the doctor's side. It was the only thing keeping him upright at the moment.

"I'm not sure. I guess we'll find out together," Thomas responded. He slipped an arm around Hotch's back and proceeded to walk him across the room. They only made five steps, however, when Hotch's legs gave out from under him and he slipped to the ground.

Not ready to give in, Thomas gently but firmly pulled the man back up to his wobbly legs and proceeded toward the door. If it took the two of them most of the afternoon, they were going to walk the distance. It was as good a place to start the man's rehabilitation as any.

OOOOO

"What's he doing here?" Morgan asked as he watched Reid limp slowly into the area of the local PD that they'd taken over. He had to admit he wasn't exactly surprised to see the youngest member of their team. What did surprise him was the obvious strain the kid was under. He knew every one of Reid's injuries, they all did. But it still surprised him to see the young genius so weak. The urge to punch something, anything, was almost too much to ignore.

"Did you really expect him to go home?" Rossi responded. He was hovering, making sure he was there when Reid finally collapsed. He just hoped for the young man's sake that it was when he reached a chair and not before. Reid had survived enough humiliation for a while. He didn't need to endure more.

"No, I thought you might send him to the hotel for a while though," Morgan said. He pulled the nearest chair out and helped the struggling Reid settle into it. He hated to admit it but it was great to see the younger man. Morgan tried to ignore the pain and relief that flashed across the thin young man's face as he finally got off his feet.

"Yeah, like that was going to happen," Garcia said. Now that Reid was stationary once again, Penelope moved over to the nearest computer and overrode the security. She needed to get back to work. There was something they were all missing, she was sure of it. Otherwise they would have found Hotch by now. Turning her full attention to the computer monitor and the multiple screens she was pulling up, Penelope dove back into the frey.

The first thing she pulled up was the satellite photos from the area where they lost Hotch on the side of the highway. The problem with the photos was that the satellites that took them only passed by the area every six hours. That was a long time between images. The chances of catching Hotch on the side of the highway and the vehicle that evidently picked him up were astronomical. Still, it was someplace to start again, for the twentieth time.

As she waited for the images to finish downloading, trying to not curse the slowness of the internet connection in the PD's office, Penelope glanced over at Reid. Emily, Morgan and Rossi were standing by the case board, going over things again. Reid was sitting in the chair, one hand clutching the crutches like they were a life line while the other sat on the desk beside him.

Out of the corner of her eye, Garcia saw that Reid's long, thin fingers were trembling. She hoped it was from fatigue and not fear or overwhelming emotions. As she typed on the keyboard, all Penelope really wanted to do was wrap her arms around Reid's boney shoulders and rock him like a child. Somehow she didn't think he'd appreciate that much. Instead, she turned her full attention to the images that were loading on the computer.

By now the photos were familiar. Garcia had gone over them several times all ready. This time she was going to go over them a pixel at a time if she had to. There was something there if only she could find it. As she poured over the images, the rest of the world just kind of melted away.

Still shaking like a leaf, or so it felt to him, Reid looked around the room. The trip had been far worse than he'd anticipated. All he really wanted to do was lay down somewhere and wait for his body to stop protesting. He saw Garcia on a computer. He had the feeling she'd commandeered it without asking for permission first. More power to her. The others were at the case board, staring at all the facts they had thus far. One part of him wanted to go join them but the majority of him just wasn't up to it.

Leaning forward in his chair, Reid placed his elbows on his knees and let his head hang down between his shoulders. It didn't help his thigh much but he ignored the burning embers of pain. His long, wavy hair was effective at blocking the casual glance at his face. Reid didn't want the others to see just how completely wiped out physically he really was. His eyes closed, Reid tried to block out the voices in the back of his head as well as collect himself. He had to get back into the game if he was going to be of any help to the team.

In front of Reid's closed eye lids, memories forced their way to the surface. Memories of the first time he'd heard the voices, of the first time Tommy had had to be there to protect him. Instantly feeling very young, Reid felt the cold metal of the goal post pressed against his naked back and his bare butt. All the sounds and smells of that day in the football field behind his high school came flooding back.

Reid had been lured by a female class mate to the football field. He'd thought that maybe, just maybe one of his class mates was going to accept him. Reid was a genius. He was twelve years old when he graduated high school. He'd gone to a Las Vegas public school where understanding and sympathy were completely lacking. The girl and the football team had attacked him, stripped him and tied him to the goal post. The only real motives Reid could ever come up with for their actions were jealousy of his intellect and probably a little fear. Teenagers aren't exactly accepting of things that were 'strange' and 'out of the ordinary'. Reid fit into both categories as well as several others.

As Reid stood in the gathering twilight, trying to break loose of his bonds, he realized he was all alone. The students responsible for his current situation had probably lied to any of the school authorities that had asked about his whereabouts. At home, his mother was having one of her bad days and probably wouldn't realize he was missing. Tears running down his cheeks, snot running out of his nose, Reid watched as the sun finally settled behind the buildings to the east. It was as the last rays of light disappeared that Reid had heard Tommy's voice for the first time.

In the childhood traumas that followed, the others added their strengths to Tommy's, helping Reid to survive and thrive. Now, however, Reid just wished they'd be quiet. Heaving a huge sigh, Reid brought his head up to find a glass of water hovering in front of his face.

"I thought you might need these," Morgan stated as he handed the young genius a glass of water and three extra strength Tylenols. For a fraction of a second, Morgan saw someone far younger and more vulnerable looking up at him from Reid's cinnamon brown eyes. It was disconcerting but then the impression was gone as Reid dropped his eyes to the glass and gratefully accepted it and the pills.

"Thanks," Reid said, a shy smile turning the corners of his expressive lips. Quickly swallowing the pills and draining the glass of water, Reid pushed his protesting body off the chair and hobbled to the case board. It was time he got back into this.


	24. Chapter 24

_Hi! Surprised to hear from me again so soon, huh? I knew not writing wasn't going to last long. It's in my blood, it's what I do!! _

_Anyway, this chapter doesn't flow quite as well as I'd hoped but it still gets the general idea across. I hope. _

_Thank you very much to all my faithful reviewers. You make my day and keep me interested!!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR

"Have you heard anything from the brothers?" Rossi asked suddenly.

Startled by the question, Morgan looked up at the older man from the file he'd been staring at for the last five minutes. Nothing of the text or pictures had actually registered but it made it look like he was working. "Come again?" he asked.

"Dave and Jared, have you heard from them of late?" Rossi rephrased his question. Across the desk, Reid looked up too. The Tylenol had finally kicked in and he was feeling a little more like his usual self. He just had to make sure he moved around every ten minutes or so, otherwise one or both injuries complained.

"No. Not since we found Reid," Morgan admitted. He'd wondered about the brothers but in the frantic search for Hotch, he hadn't done anything about it.

"They might be able to help us," Reid suggested. He liked the brothers. He knew they made Morgan a little nervous but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing.

"I doubt it," Morgan responded. To indicate that the subject was closed, Morgan turned his attention back to the file.

The four members of the BAU were sitting at a conference room table that two of the detectives of the local PD had been using as their desks until the BAU had set up their command post. Silently, Emily sat at one of the short sides, opposite Rossi, also staring at files. So far she hadn't found anything that hadn't been there before. She was starting to lose patience.

At a small table all of her own, Garcia was continuing to work on the computer she'd commandeered as well as her laptop. Between the two machines she was analyzing and extraordinary amount of data. Staring at the two screens was starting to freak out her eyes a little though. To reduce the eye strain, she glanced up from the nearest screen to scan the room. The command center was in the corner of the room. The other three sides were full to overflowing with police officers and detectives. They were answering phones and otherwise running up leads.

Her eyes feeling better, Garcia turned her attention back to the screens. A pair of satellite photos from two hours before the Trooper had approached Mary's car had just finished loading. They were from two different satellites. The one had a steeper angle. After several days of red tape, she'd finally gained access to the steeper shots. Garcia had tried to hack into the satellite without permission to expedite things but had been unsuccessful. The fact burned her to no end.

It was on her second comparison of the two photos that Garcia noticed something. Hope sprang into her heart and mind. Maybe, just maybe, this might be the break they'd been hoping for. Checking one more time, just to make sure, Penelope confirmed her finding.

"Guys? I think I've found a picture of Hotch on the highway," Garcia said, not daring to look up from the screen, just in case.

OOOOO

Half way to the hall, Thomas was seriously rethinking his decision to make their charge walk to the mess hall. While Hotch was still trudging on like a soldier, the longer they continued on, the smaller his paces were becoming. Thomas could feel the complete lack of energy from the man. He'd burned it all up getting this far. Just as he was considering trying to take his charge back to the barracks, Theresa appeared on Aaron's other side and slipped his arm across her shoulders.

"I'm glad to see you up and about," Theresa stated as she looked side-long at the struggling man's face.

"I'm not sure I share your feelings at the moment," Aaron replied, casting a half smile in her direction. He was so damned weak and his side and hip were burning like someone was holding a branding iron to his flesh. Despite Thomas's warnings not to, Aaron had taken inventory of his wounds. He knew about the 'W' or 'M' burned or cut into his flesh. He knew that someone had taken a great deal of pleasure in causing him pain. What he didn't know was why. That question was haunting him as he and his two helpers completed the walk to the mess hall.

"There, that wasn't so bad, was it?" Theresa asked as she and Thomas basically lifted Aaron up the few steps and through the front door. Other members of the compound moved by them trying to not stare too much at the pale, perspiring man.

"Ask me in a minute," Aaron responded breathlessly.

"Let's get him in and seated. Then we'll continue the conversation," Thomas suggested. As the three of them proceeded further into the hall, Thomas glanced over his shoulder in time to see one of the compound vehicles pull in through the gate.

Within minutes they had Hotch set up at one of the tables, seated as comfortably as the man could manage. Silently, he looked around the room, trying to ignore his pain while also trying to jog his memory. Maybe one of them would be familiar. Maybe by recognizing one of the people around him, he'd start to remember other thing. Thomas and Theresa moved off, to see if they could help with the last details of the meal.

Sitting alone, knowing that people were trying to not stare at him, Hotch continued to scan the room. He noticed the three people that came in late through the front doors. Two of them were dressed much the same as the others from the compound, the third person was a twenty-something man. The man paused just inside the door and scanned the room, much the way Hotch had.

Watching the young man's face, Hotch realized that while he was trying very hard to be warm and interested in what the two young, compound men were telling him, it was a mask. There was something hard and driven about the man but it didn't threaten Aaron. That in and of itself made Hotch curious about the man.

As the man's eyes travelled over the compound members sitting at the tables, wandering the aisles between the tables and in the kitchen area, Hotch continued to observe him. When the man finally came across Hotch, his eyes stopped dead. Hotch's brown eyes looked into the man's grey/blue ones. For a split second the mask on the man's face fell. Relief spread over his face and joy. When the emotions weren't reciprocated by Hotch, the mask fell back in place and the man turned his full attention back to his companions.

"Who is that?" Hotch asked Thomas as the doctor sat down beside him.

"Who?" Thomas responded, not entirely sure who the other man meant. He looked around as well and spotted the three by the door. The two compound members were immediately recognizable. The man with them wasn't. "I'm not sure. Members occasionally bring people for meals. He must have looked hungry."

"Is that how I got here?" Hotch asked. In all the time he'd been here, since he woke up, Hotch hadn't really bothered to get his own details. Mostly it was because Thomas had tried to let the memories come back on their own.

"Theresa and Amanda found you on the side of the road. They couldn't just leave you there," Thomas said. His eyes were caught on the scene by the door. He barely acknowledged the food that was set down in front of him.

The trio moved from the door and sat at the table across from the one where Hotch and Thomas were sitting. The members were animate, bringing their 'A' game to the table. It was then Hotch realized there was a very strong possibility he was in a cult. What he didn't know was whether he'd joined or not. He had the feeling, though, that it wasn't his type of thing.

While he ate, Hotch found that the food was very good, if simple, meat, potatoes, vegetables and salad. He also found that his eyes kept being drawn to the young man who'd conveniently sat directly across from him. The young man was careful to keep his attention on his new best friends, but Hotch caught him glancing at him several times.

By the time the meal finished, Hotch was feeling a little stronger, for which he was grateful. But he was also developing one hell of a head ache. It felt like someone was drilling into his frontal lobe. Blinking helped to ease the pain marginally but it always came back.

"Are you all right?" Thomas asked. Hotch had been virtually silent during the meal. Thomas had attributed it to complete exhaustion. Now, however, he noticed that the lines in the corner of the man's eyes were getting a little deeper and what colour had returned to his face was gone again.

"Just getting a headache," Hotch admitted. The compound members were beginning to clear the tables off, the dishes taken to the kitchen. Even the children were helping. Hotch could count the number of children on his fingers, apparently this cult wasn't based on using sex as a control measure. Somehow that thought didn't make him feel any better, though.

"Well, I guess we should get you back to the bunk house. You're had a busy day," Thomas suggested. He saw Michael across the room. Their leader was now talking with the new recruit's companions. The new recruit was still sitting at the table, unabashedly staring at Hotch while trying to not be obvious about it. Hotch wasn't sure what he was trying to accomplish.

"I'm ready for a nap," Hotch admitted. He hated being this weak and helpless. While he couldn't remember his past, he knew intuitively that this was not the way he usually was. He was aware of the man's attention. He just didn't have the energy or inclination to do something about it.

"Do you know this man?" Thomas demanded suddenly. He was staring at the new recruit.

"He looks familiar," the man responded vaguely. Damn it, he'd blown it. Jared had said this was a really bad idea but Dave had figured they could cover more ground if they split up. Now he'd give anything to have his brother here with him, not 80 miles away in another one of these damned camps. The fact that Agent Hotchner didn't seem to know him really threw him for a loop. Had they drugged him? It seemed like a possibility but it also didn't seem that they had hurt him. At least Dave hadn't noticed any new injuries, just ones that were older and starting to fade on his face and arms. "Where do I know you from?"

It was a half assed attempt to deflect their suspicions. Dave knew he failed when his two recruiters came back. While they tried desperately to still appear to be the good guys of before, Dave noticed an edge immediately.

"You know what? Thank you very much for the meal but I think I'd better get back on the road. My brother is waiting for me at home," Dave threw out there as well. If they thought someone was waiting for him, maybe, just maybe, they weren't going to try to detain him. Dave needed to get the hell out of here and get reinforcements. There were just too many people and Hotch was in no shape to help. At least he was alive. The others would be just as relieved as he had been to find that one out.

"It's dark out," Michael said as he stepped up behind Dave's chair. Without warning, he pushed against the back of the chair, effectively pinning Dave against the heavy wooden table. "I think you need to spend the night."


	25. Chapter 25

_Hi!!! It's short but it's the perfect place to stop. You'll understand when you get there. Have fun reading!!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE

The five BAU members poured over the computer screen. Just barely, on the left side of the screen, Reid could make out a prone figure on the shoulder of the highway. How Garcia could identify the figure as Hotch, given the grainy nature of the image, Spencer wasn't sure. But somehow, he too knew intuitively that the dark haired figure was their boss and friend. Relief flowed through him. The image proved that Hotch had escaped from Mary. Hopefully that meant he was in much better hands.

"What does the next image show?" Rossi asked. As much as he wanted to keep that image on the screen, he wanted to know what happened next.

"There's a time lag in the satellite images. It's not like it's an area where they're worried about terrorism attacks or anything else of a high alert nature," Garcia responded. "The next image isn't for ten minutes. By then Hotch is gone."

"Show it to us anyway," Morgan asked. There might be something there. He was hoping desperately that there was something there. "Please, baby girl."

With a few taps on the keyboard, Garcia pulled up the next image. As she'd said, the prone figure was gone. Penelope could almost feel the air being sucked out of the room. Then Reid became very still over her left shoulder. "What's that?" he asked, indicating a blob on the far right hand end of the image.

"I'm not sure," Penelope admitted as she expertly zoomed into the indicated pixels. Her heart leapt into his throat as the image slowly cleared.

"Isn't there more bandwidth than shows on the screen?" Reid asked as he saw what seemed to be the back end of a car. At the moment all they could see of it was the driver's side of the bumper, the license plate was off frame. "I remember you saying that before."

"You're right, there is usually. I just need a moment to check to see if there is more," Penelope said as her fingers flew over the keyboard. The image shifted slightly to the right. "Oh my God!"

OOOOO

"Boy! Am I glad to see you," Dave stated in a quiet voice. He wasn't so thrilled with the circumstances, however. The two of them were locked in a room. Hotch was secured, spread eagle, to a metal bed frame. In deference to his injuries, Thomas had made Michael put a mattress on the frame first. Dave was currently tied securely to a metal chair in the middle of the room.

"Who are you?" Hotch asked. At least Dave assumed it was Hotch since he was the only other person in the room at the moment. The voice from behind him sounded too quiet and unsure of itself. Those were two traits he'd never attributed to the Unit Chief before.

"Dave. You met me after Mary kidnapped you, Dr. Reid, Matt and my brother," Dave said. He'd known in the mess hall that the dark haired man didn't recognize him. What had caused the amnesia was a mystery that he wasn't sure he had the time to figure out. But he was willing to try. He knew Mary hadn't kidnapped Matt but he didn't have the time to get that detailed. All he wanted to do was to get Hotch thinking before the compound members came back.

Lying on the bed, feeling every pain in his body, Hotch contemplated the younger man's words. He knew Dave had appeared familiar to him. Otherwise he wouldn't have stared at him so hard. Unfortunately his words brought a series of images burning through his mind. The images were so intense and ugly that they drowned out everything around him. All he was aware of was pain and shame.

"Hotch?" Dave called out over his shoulder. He was facing toward the door and away from the bed. It made a frustrating situation all the more so. Behind him he could hear the older man's breathing. It was hitched and laboured. Dave could almost swear he heard Hotch groan quietly. "Hotch!!"

"Who is 'Hotch'?" Michael asked casually as he walked into the room. There were no windows, not even on the door. As a result, Dave had no real idea of how long the two of them had been in the room but it couldn't have been more than an hour or so.

"He is," Dave responded, glaring at the man. He knew he had to tread lightly with these people. They weren't white supremists, thank God, but he had the feeling they could be just as fanatical about their beliefs. "What have you done to him?"

"Why, we've spent a great deal of time and energy trying to help him heal. How do you know him?" Michael wandered casually around the room, as if this were nothing more than a conversation between old friends. Dave noticed, however, that he seemed to take a great deal of joy from speaking behind him. The back of Dave's neck itched, knowing the man was behind him and he was completely helpless to defend himself or Hotch.

"We have a mutual acquaintance," Dave said. Carefully, he was staring ahead at the door. The last thing he wanted was for Michael to know that he was unnerving him.

"And who would that be?" Michael inquired. He was standing over Hotch, looking down at the man. Sweat was gathering on Hotch's face as he relived things that had only seemed like nightmares not that long ago. His body responded with remembered pain as he was attacked again and again by Mary and then Doug. It felt like he was drowning in a sea of fear, revulsion and pain.

"The reason why you had to fight so hard to help him heal," Dave hedged. He wasn't sure how much these people were up on current affairs. He knew he didn't want to tell them that Aaron was an FBI agent. That would just put both of their lives in further danger.

"I see. If that is how you met, then why are you not injured?" Michael asked. He'd left Aaron on the bed, suffering through his torment, and moved around to face Dave. He wanted to see the man's face as he asked these questions, to gauge his level of truthfulness.

"Oh, but I am," Dave responded, trying to put as tortured a face as he could on. "My wounds are all on the inside."

"Somehow I doubt that," Michael said. Nonchalantly, he placed his right foot on the front of the chair, between Dave's legs that were tied to the chair legs. He wanted to intimidate the man, to put him off balance. If he had to resort to physical violence, there were a few members of the compound that would do the work for him, happily. "What is his full name? I know it's not 'Hotch'."

"Aaron Hotchner," Dave said. He was careful to keep his face neutral now that the man didn't believe him about his 'internal' injuries. The easiest way to keep the story straight was to tell as much truth as he could. Even if they had access to the internet out here, which he doubted very much, Dave was hoping the FBI had the sense to keep the identities of their agents a secret.

"And what does Aaron Hotchner do in life?" Michael asked as he leaned forward so his face was only six inches from Dave's.

"He takes care of his friends and tries to help keep order in the universe," Dave said. How long could he keep this up? Surely by now Jared knew he was missing. Surely by now, Jared had contacted the other members of the BAU and given them a rough idea of his whereabouts.

"You are rather vague in your answers, Dave," Michael said. "Is there something about Mr. Hotchner that you don't want us to know about?"

"I'm sure there're things about both of us that I don't want you to know about. It would take all the mystery out of life and be an invasion of our privacy," Dave growled. He didn't want to piss the guy off but he was feeling vulnerable with Michael's foot where it was.

"Are you sure about that, Dave? I have some friends here that are very good at making people talk," Michael said. He leaned a little closer. The toe of his boot was resting lightly against the other man's genitals. Just a little pressure would be enough to cause a great deal of pain. For a few moments Michael considered it. Luckily for Dave, he was a pacifist at heart.

"You do know that I haven't come in here by myself, right? There are people outside your gates waiting for me to check in. If I don't you're going to have all kinds of trouble raining down on your head. Is that how you want to play this?" It was a bunch of bullshit but it was worth a try. Dave was very familiar with pain but it wasn't something he went out of his way to experience. Besides, he wasn't sure how much more Hotch could take. While they'd been talking, he'd heard the older man's breath become more ragged and shallow.

"I have people checking the woods beyond the gates. If you had people with you, we would have found them all ready," Michael countered.

"Well, if you and your backward members had found them, that wouldn't make them very good at their jobs, would it?" What the hell, it wasn't like he had anything to lose at the moment. Dave just wished he could check on Aaron.

"Enough. I'll come back in a few hours and see if you are more in the mood to tell me what I need to know then." Frustrated beyond all belief, Michael left the room. Almost instantly two very big, very mean looking men entered through the door.

"Who are you?" Dave asked, a crooked grin on his lips. "Tweedledee and Tweedledumb?"

Apparently neither man was much into reading the classics. Or maybe they were and that was why they took offence to the names Dave had given them. As blows rained down on his body and head, Dave decided he should learn to hold his tongue a little better. Hopefully this was all going to be worth it and Jared was going to come in to save the day. Otherwise, both of them were in big trouble.


	26. Chapter 26

_Hello! I'm so glad that you're all still with me on this one. I should be updating my other stories but this one won't leave me alone. I guess I'll work on it until the others let themselves be known, or at least ideas appear! Enjoy!_

CHAPTER TWENTY SIX

"I've got a licence plate!!" Garcia breathed. Instantaneously, the computer tech's fingers were running the numbers from the plate to see who the vehicle belonged to. She could feel the others breathing down the back of her neck, anxiously waiting for her to find the clue to this that would tell them where Hotch was.

While the members of the BAU waited with baited breath for the results on the computer screen, Reid became dimly aware of a gentle buzzing in his pocket. Growling lightly under his breath, he leaned to the side and managed to fish his cell phone out before it stopped ringing. Moving clumsily away from the others, he brought the receiver to his ear. "Hello?"

"Hi, Dr. Reid. This is Jared. I need help. I think Dave has found Agent Hotchner but I can't get him out," an agitated voice spoke rapidly. It took a fraction of a second for Reid to recognize the voice and to realize what he'd just said.

"Jared? Where are you?" Reid asked quickly, waving his hand at Rossi to get his attention. Slumping down on the nearest chair, Reid scrambled to find a paper and pen to write down the information the younger brother was frantically giving him. "Okay. Just hold on. We'll get there as soon as we possibly can."

"Reid, what?" Morgan asked as he watched the younger man pull a piece of paper off of a pad.

"That was Jared. He says that he and Dave have been infiltrating the compounds, trying to find Hotch. Dave went hitch hiking last night and was picked up by a pair of members. They have it set up that they phone each other once they're clear of the compounds. Jared hasn't heard from him since," Reid informed him.

"Does he know where Dave went?" Rossi asked. He knew the brothers couldn't stay out of this. It wasn't in their nature. He was, however, getting a little tired of the two of them pulling their bacon out of the fire. The fact that the bounty hunters could break laws that bound the members of the BAU just made him all the more frustrated.

"Dave's cell phone has GPS. Jared accessed it and gave me the co-ordinates," Reid stated as he handed the numbers to Garcia. They needed to know what they were running into. On the computer screen, they got a map showing where the co-ordinates were.

"Aren't there any satellite pictures of this area?" Rossi asked. He knew Penelope was doing the best she could. Physically, he moved back from the chair Garcia was sitting in. She didn't need the added pressure.

"No. I don't really understand why but there aren't any," Garcia responded as her fingers flew over the keyboard. Multiple images flashed across the screen but all of them were maps, no photos. "I've looked everywhere. All I'm getting are maps. I can tell you where it is but I can't show you what's there."

All of the commotion had drawn the attention of the Chief. She strode over to the group and looked at the screen. "I know that area. It's mostly forest. I don't think there's any kind of compound up there," she told them.

"Well, that's the co-ordinates Jared has so I guess we're going to find out what's there," Morgan said. "Get us a helicopter, baby girl. We need to get out there."

OOOOO

"Stop," Michael said. He'd let his two friends beat on Dave for five minutes. With any luck, that would be enough time for him to come around to their way of thinking. It was still dark outside, which meant most of the members were sleeping. That was just as well, Michael didn't want them to witness this side of his power.

"Now, are you going to tell us who you are and who this man is?" Michael pressed. He had to bend down to look into Dave's face. The younger man was having trouble breathing around a pair of bruised, possibly cracked ribs. His head hang down as he tried to draw breath and not pass out from the pain spreading through his side. Dave's eyes were closed as he rode the waves of pain. His ribs drown out the rest of the injuries the two men had inflicted on him.

"Go to hell," Dave growled. They could do what they liked. There was no way in hell he was about to tell them that they had a federal agent among them. He didn't know much about these people but he knew they wouldn't appreciate finding that out. It wouldn't bode well for either one of them.

"All right, the choice is yours," Michael said as he stepped back. As he moved, he motioned with his hand for the two men to go forward. Still breathing heavily, the two men advanced again. The beating resumed. They weren't sure who was becoming more tired, them or the man they were hitting. Sounds of flesh striking flesh reverberated through the room.

From his position on the bed, Aaron was in his own hell. Images from a life he didn't immediately recognize were flashing through his mind. He was young, probably about seven or eight. Some part of him recognized his surroundings. It was his childhood bedroom. He was huddled in the closet. His father was downstairs. He could hear his angry voice as he raged around the living room. The elder Hotchner had spent the day drinking.

His father was furious that Aaron's mother hadn't had supper ready when he'd gotten home. Fear sent the blood rushing through his ears, blocking some of the sounds out. Through the rushing in his ears, Aaron could dimly make out the sounds of fists hitting flesh. The sound seemed to echo around him, through him.

Desperately, Aaron shrank away from the sound and tried to find some place, any place else to go in his mind that would be safe. The image of a young boy, blond hair, a beautiful smile, appeared. The boy was his son. All the pain, fear, shame and desperation seemed to melt away. The image of his son was replaced by that of an older young man. This man was tall and lean with curly brown hair. The emotions became to come back as memories of Dr. Spencer Reid came back to him. Hotch's surrogate son was in trouble and he had no way of helping him. Desperation resurfaced.

OOOOO

Sometime during the beating Dave lost consciousness. He knew it was a blessing in disguise but it screwed things up as well. While it kept Dave from having to feel the blows and the ensuing pain, it kept him from knowing where he was when he finally came back around.

As Dave opened his eyes, he became aware of two things. The first thing was that wherever they were was very damned dark. The second thing was that he wasn't alone. He was in a seated position, his back against something solid. When he moved, his ribs screamed bloody murder so he tried to not do that. In the darkness he could feel someone shift slightly against his chest.

"Hotch?" Dave said quietly. He didn't want to take a chance that one of the members would over hear him.

"Yeah?" the voice came from in front of him and sounded very weak. The person shifted again. They were in a confined space. There wasn't enough room for either of them to lay down so they were both forced into a seated position. Dave figured he'd been put here, wherever here was, first so Hotch was basically sitting in his lap.

Under normal circumstances, this fact would have Dave crawling out of his skin. At the moment, however, he slipped his arms around the other man's body and pulled him a little bit closer. Damn but it was good to know Hotch was alive!! He and Jared had just about given up hope when they found out about these last two compounds they hadn't gone to yet. It had seemed like divine providence when the car had pulled up beside him on the road. It had only taken three other people stopping to offer him help to have the right people finally stop.

"Do you know who you are?" Dave asked quietly.

"Yeah, I do," Hotch responded. Dave thought his voice sounded almost depressed or at least resigned. Knowing what he did, Dave wasn't sure he blamed the man. The last thing he would have wanted was to survive being raped and then having to relive the whole thing again when his memory came back.

"Where are we?" Dave asked. He had to shift the older man just a little. Hotch's elbow was pressed against his sore ribs.

"I'm not sure," Hotch admitted. He absolutely hated sitting against the young bounty hunter. It made him feel helpless but the truth was he didn't have the strength to move. "I was a little incoherent when they moved you. I think we're at the bottom of a dry well. The walls are loose dirt."

"Great," Dave growled. How were they going to get out of this one?

OOOOO

The closest the helicopter could come to the co-ordinates was a clearing two miles away. As the vehicle lowered to the ground, a figure darted from the edge of the trees toward them. Looking out the side window of the helicopter, Reid recognized Jared immediately. It had taken him a lot of arguing to be included in this little flight. With his injuries, Emily, Rossi, Morgan and the Chief wanted to leave him behind. There was no way in hell Reid was going to let that happen.

Just as the helicopter touched down, Reid pulled the door open and tried to lunge forward. From behind him, Morgan grabbed the back of his jacket and kept him on board. The last thing they needed was for Reid to injure himself further. Still holding onto Reid, Morgan climbed around him and then helped the thin young man and his crutches out of the vehicle.

"Hold on, Reid. You need to let us help you, otherwise we're going to send you back on board the helicopter," Morgan said as Reid tried to pull away from him. Around them the tall grass of the meadow swirled away from the still turning rotor blades. The downwash nearly pushed Reid off his feet. He had to scramble with the crutches to keep upright. He tried to not pull away as Morgan gently placed a supporting hand on his back.

"It took you long enough," Jared growled a little bit as he joined the BAU members.

"I'm sorry," Rossi said as he stepped up. "We had to wait for daylight for the helicopter to fly."

"Don't you have night vision on that thing?" Jared growled. His fear for his brother was making him cross.

"It's in the next budget," the Chief growled back. She was getting a little tired of feeling inadequate.

"Have you seen this compound? Have you seen Dave or Hotch?" Morgan pressed. They didn't have time for this. There was only one helicopter. They had to send it back to get reinforcements. Most of them would be coming by SUV and were still half an hour out.

"No, I haven't seen them but Dave's cell phone was still there the last time I checked," Jared said. They were moving away from the helicopter as it lifted off. Again Morgan had to catch hold of Reid to keep him from taking a tumble. He was really beginning to question to logic of bringing Spencer with them.

"Let's go," Emily suggested. She was itching to get a firsthand look at this compound so they could get Dave and hopefully Hotch out without any loss of life. "We can talk as we move."


	27. Chapter 27

_Hello!! Thank you ever so much for all your wonderful reviews and for sticking with me. Life should stop getting in the way for a while so I should be able to update all of my other stories and maybe even complete a few of them in the weeks to come. Enjoy!!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN

Struggling with his crutches kept Reid at the back of the line. Sweating like a stuck pig, feeling weak beyond anything he could have ever imagined Reid gamely tried to keep up. It was a lost cause, however. As he moved he saw Jared, Morgan and the Sheriff disappearing into a thick stand of trees. Rossi trailed a little behind them but Emily stayed back.

"I'll catch up," Reid panted. He'd barely gone 200 yards and he was ready for a break. This was not good. He tried desperately to hide this fact from Emily. Unfortunately, he wasn't very successful, mostly because Emily knew him too well.

"I'm not leaving you here by yourself, Reid," Emily responded. She was keeping a close eye on the others so she knew what direction they had gone. Without asking for permission, Emily pulled the crutch on the side of his bad leg out of his hand. Then she slid his hand across her shoulders and pulled his thin body against hers. She wasn't leaving him behind but she wasn't going to waste any more time than necessary either.

"I'm fine," Reid gasped. The pain in his leg was manageable but it also left him without much breath. As much as he hated to admit it, he appreciated the dark haired woman's help.

"Be quiet," Emily breathed. As quickly as Reid's battered body would allow them, they followed the others through the trees and down the hill.

OOOOO

"We should have left him in the precinct," the Chief said. She was following young Jared. At least the kid seemed to know where they needed to go. She hoped so anyway. This terrain was vaguely familiar to her but that was it.

"That wasn't an option," Rossi responded from behind a pair of binoculars.

"He's a liability," the Chief pressed. She knew all about what the boy had been through. While she couldn't blame him for the shape he was in, she didn't appreciate having to deal with it much. Not in the field anyway.

"We need him," Morgan growled under his own set of binoculars. Jared hadn't wasted his time while he waited for the others to get there. He'd scanned the landscape around the compound and found the perfect vantage point. They could see all of the buildings on the grounds and watch everything that happened within its confines and yet the compound members couldn't see them. "You did good."

"I've been watching since last night but I haven't seen Dean or Agent Hotchner. It doesn't make sense," Jared said as he too scanned the compound. It had killed him to leave his vantage point long enough to get the FBI agents. It meant that no one had been watching for his brother for the three hours that had taken. The only thing he was sure of was the fact that Dave was still inside the compound. The GPS program told him that much. Unfortunately it was only accurate to 200 meters. That was a lot of ground to cover.

"What are those buildings used for?" Rossi inquired. He'd figured out the meeting hall on his own but the other buildings weren't as frequently used during the day so he was having trouble sorting their function out.

Kneeling down on the forest floor, Jared cleared a section of pine needles, leaves, etc and drew a quick diagram of the compound. "This is what I've found out so far," Jared said.

OOOOO

"We should take a break," Emily said. Reid had begun to lean against her harder the further they moved. Emily still knew where the others had gone but getting there wasn't going to be much fun. She was very grateful at the moment that Reid was such a slight person, otherwise the chances of her getting him all the way down the slope without further injury was slim.

"I need to get there," Reid huffed. It was going to take everything he had to reach the others. After that he wasn't entirely sure what was going to happen. Although, he had the feeling he was going to fall asleep for a while. Even the dirt looked good at the moment. "If we stop now I don't know that I'll be able to move again."

Realizing how hard it was for Reid to make that admission, Emily shifted her stance slightly to take a bit more of the younger man's weight and they continued on. Each step seemed like a major achievement. Eventually, though they reached the vantage point. Deflating like a balloon, Reid settled on the ground, his back against the nearest tree trunk. Almost instantly, his eyes fluttered shut and he was asleep.

"What do we have?" Emily asked. She squatted down beside the make-shift floor plan and listened as Morgan, Rossi and Jared ran through the plan they'd come up with.

OOOOO

"Hey, hey," Dave said as he gently shook Hotch's body. The older man was having a nightmare and a doozy at that. The young bounty hunter had fallen asleep some time ago. The only reason he knew time had passed was because he could see a small circle of light far above their heads. The sun had come up.

"What?" Hotch responded, his voice sounding young and bewildered. Against his chest, Dave could feel the older man trembling. He wasn't sure if it was with fear or cold. Both were a distinct possibility. He felt Hotch shift against him. Clearly, he wasn't especially happy with the arrangements either.

"You were dreaming," Dave prompted. He hated not being able to look at Hotch's face. It would tell him so much more than the trembling body basically huddled against him did. He could feel heat coming off of the man, almost in waves. Since the world around them was cold, he knew Hotch was developing a fever. "Do you remember what it was about?"

"No," Hotch lied. He hated being this close to the younger man. He knew logically that he could trust him but after all he'd experienced in the last few months, Hotch only trusted his people, his team. It almost killed him that he had to depend on Dave for pretty much everything. The dreams only made matters worse. He was remembering Mary and Doug. He also remembered Reid. His stomach did flip flops at the mere thought of the younger man. "How is Spencer?"

"He was in the hospital the last thing I heard," Dave responded. It was the first time Hotch had asked about the young genius. Dave took that as a good sign.

"How bad is he?" Hotch asked. He wasn't sure he really wanted to know the answer but he had to ask. The fact that Reid had been rescued and taken to a hospital filled him with relief. At least one of them got away.

"I'm not sure," Dave said. He shifted under Hotch's weight. The older man was bigger than him and his sore butt and legs were complaining. He was also feeling unbelievably hungry and thirsty. How long had they been down here so far? "But I know he wasn't in ICU or anything so he couldn't be too bad off."

"Good," Hotch stated. Reid was okay. Well, as okay as he was likely to be after being beaten and raped. The very thought of the word sent shivers of revulsion through Hotch's body. The revived memories brought new pain to old wounds. The images of Doug forcing himself on Reid didn't help matters much. Hotch grunted against the pain and tried to block it out. Allowing the past to overwhelm him wasn't going to help him or Dave in the here and now. But it was hard.

"What the hell?" Dave said. He'd happened to glance up at the circle of light in time for it to disappear. Then the circle reappeared as something was placed over the edge and lowered down on a length of rope. "Hello?" It was a knee jerk reaction. Instinctively, Dave knew that whoever was at the top of their hole wasn't likely to be there to help them.

There was no response but Hotch felt something cool and smooth brush against his arm. Grasping it, he realized quickly that it was two large bottles with a cool liquid inside as well as a small packet of some kind. Stiffly, he tried to wrestle the package free of the rope only to find that he wasn't able to. Frustrated, he thrust it toward Dave's hands that were resting lightly on his stomach. "Here," he growled.

As soon as Dave got the package free, the rope disappeared back up the hole. Someone was trying to keep them alive but didn't want anyone to know. That was probably for the best. In the dark, Dave twisted off the top of one of the bottles and sniffed at the contents. It seemed to be water. Too thirsty to care if they'd managed to somehow drug it, Dave took two quick swallows before handing it off to Hotch. The older man needed the water more than he did. If they were going to get the hell out of here, they were both going to need all the strength they could manage.

In the plastic bags that had accompanied the water bottles, Dave found what appeared to be sandwiches. Not caring what kind, he ripped one in half, handed the larger of the two pieces to Hotch and virtually inhaled his own. Things were looking up.


	28. Chapter 28

_Hello! This isn't quite as long as I'd hoped but it works. I hope you enjoy it!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT

By the time Reid woke up, the others had developed and agreed on a plan. Lifting his head up from the awkward angle he'd wound up in, Reid carefully pried his protesting body away from the tree. He was deeply ashamed that he'd fallen asleep. Hotch needed him and he couldn't see beyond his own failings at the moment. Feeling a blush passing over his face, Reid hoped the others didn't notice. Moving over to the others, Reid looked down at the map of the compound Jared had created. He was grateful that his long hair hid his face.

"Okay," Morgan said as he stood up. "We're going to leave you here, Reid. We need to have someone up here keeping watch. Once we get in among those trees and undergrowth, we're not going to be able to maintain line of sight on all the buildings. The rest of us are going to meet up with the Chief's teams and enter the compound from multiple directions."

"How long will it take you to organize and execute?" Reid asked as he moved around until he found the perfect vantage point. He hated being left behind. It made him feel weak and incompetent. Then his leg and hip twinged. Sighing with regret, he knew it was for the best. There wasn't a hope in hell that he would be able to keep up. The ache in his hip was getting worse. Absently, Reid rubbed at it as he continued to pace the ridge. If he only had one job to do, he was going to do it well.

"One hour," Rossi stated. He hated the idea of leaving Reid here alone. He hated the idea of leaving Reid alone period but he was going to have to do it some time. If it meant increasing the chances of finding Hotch, he was all for it. He knew, though, that if Hotch ever found out about this there would be hell to pay. While Reid was an important member of their unit and was usually more than capable of taking care of himself today he was injured. Out of the corner of his eye, Rossi examined the thin young man. The determination on his lean face helped to chase any misgivings away.

Glancing at his wrist watch, Reid made a mental note of the time. In one hour, the others would enter the compound. In one hour, they might have the answer as to whether Hotch was alive. Accepting the binoculars that Morgan had handed him, Reid turned his attention to the buildings. Somewhere in there they had Hotch. Heaving a huge sigh, Reid checked the radio in his ear. If something happened within the compound in the next hour, he was going to make sure Morgan and Rossi knew about it.

"Take care," Emily said as she followed the others along the ridge line toward the staging area. She hated the idea of leaving Reid alone too. She had the impression that that feeling wasn't going to go away any time soon. Swallowing her fear, Emily put her game face back on. This wasn't going to be a cake walk. All of them were going to have to be on top of their game.

"Don't worry," Reid responded, still looking through the lenses. "I will. Just bring him back, okay?"

Nodding her dark head in acknowledgement, Emily turned from the thin figure standing resolutely on the ridge and moved quickly to catch up. The others were all ready a couple of hundred meters away. There wasn't a hope in hell that she was going to be left behind on this one. As she moved, Emily glanced up at the sky and the dark clouds that were moving quickly toward them. So much for the nice weather.

OOOOO

After finishing the contents of one bag, Dave carefully placed the second one beside him. They had no idea when their next meal would come so he wanted to save it until they absolutely needed it. The same went for the second bottle of water. Hotch had only drank a small portion of it before handing it back over to the younger man. While Dave was grateful that it meant they had more water, he was also concerned that the injured man wasn't drinking enough.

The food and drink had helped him feel better, but Hotch knew he was in no shape to climb back out of the hole they were in. His side was complaining loudly. Gently resting a hand over top of the fabric covering the wounds, Hotch wasn't surprised to find that the wound was hot. He could also feel that the fabric of his shirt was kind of crusty and sticky. Evidently the wound hadn't responded to the hole very well, it was infected and seeping puss. Hotch's stomach lurched at the thought. He might die out here after all.

"I'm going to have to try to move you," Dave stated. He couldn't stand it anymore. His butt and legs were beyond numb. While there wasn't enough room at the bottom of the hole for either of them to stretch out, he figured there had to be a more comfortable position possible. At least he was hoping so.

"I won't be much help," Hotch admitted. His legs were beginning to cramp up, as was his side. Intuitively, he knew he didn't have nearly enough strength to stand up, much less move anywhere.

"That's okay. I'm going to try to get you standing up while I figure out how to do this better," Dave suggested. As carefully as he could, Dave pulled his numb limbs out from under Hotch's apparently boney body. As soon as the weight was removed off his body, blood came rushing back into his extremities. Ignoring the pins and needles, Dave gained his feet, slipped his arms under Hotch's arm pits and pulled him to his feet. Once they were both upright, Dave found that the world tilted crazily to the left. Barely, he managed to keep them both on their feet.

The change in altitude was agonizing. Gulping air, Hotch tried to keep from passing out and/or throwing up as Dave pressed his back against the wall. The world swam drunkenly around him as Dave held one hand against his chest to keep him upright, while the other searched their cell to figure out the dimensions. Unconsciously, Hotch caught hold of Dave's hand. It seemed to help ground him a little. At least, he didn't wind up on his face in the dirt.

"Well, this place wasn't created for comfort," Dave groused. There wasn't any more room than he'd initially thought. They would be okay if one or both of them could stand in turns but all ready Hotch was starting to tremble with fatigue and Dave's own injuries were letting themselves known.

"I think it's an old well," Hotch stated. In an effort to remain on his feet, he'd moved his hands from on top of Dave's to behind his back. Beneath his hands, he could feel the brick work. It stopped abruptly about three feet from the floor but at the moment it was dry. With any luck it would stay that way. As if hearing his thoughts, Hotch thought he heard the distant sound of thunder.

"Still, they could have made it wider," Dave grumbled. There wasn't going to be much room for either of them. Bending over, Dave made sure the water bottles and food packet were safely out of the way before he took hold of Hotch. The older man grunted against his chest as he lowered both of them down to the ground.

The new position wasn't necessarily more comfortable for either man. Dave had sat Hotch in his lap again, there wasn't enough room to do anything else, but he'd sat him sideways. At least that meant minimal contact between Dave's legs and Hotch so, with any luck, they'd not fall asleep quite as fast. That left Hotch's side resting up against Dave's torso. Out of pure luck, the younger man had placed the FBI agent's injured side away from his body.

"This is much better," Hotch grumbled. Now he felt even more helpless. The younger man was holding him like a child and his legs didn't have enough room to stretch out at all. The new position did little to help with the cramps in his leg but he knew Dave was doing the best he could. Darkness descended as the numerous injuries would no longer be ignored. As the older man slumped harder against him, Dave tried to push away the despair that was threatening to overwhelm him. Jared was out there, looking for him. That gave him at least a glimmer of hope. Then the first drop of water fell on his upturned face. It had started to rain.


	29. Chapter 29

_We're getting there! Soon! Honest! Well, not too fast. I'm enjoying writing this a little too much. Thank you for sticking with me. I hope you enjoy what I've come up with._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER TWENTY NINE

Straining to see everything through the binoculars, Reid scanned the compound. As hard as he tried, the young profiler could find no one who seemed to be doing anything out of the ordinary. Fear began to give way to panic. They had to find Hotch. _Who knew what these people had done to him? Please God, let him be here. _Thoughts raced through Reid's mind at ever increasing rates.

"Take a breath," Reid muttered to himself. Even as he tried to not give in to the pandemonium in his mind, he continued to move from one person to the next. They were running out of time. Rain drops fell through the tree branches above Reid's head to patter on his head and shoulders. He barely even noticed. It wasn't until the lenses of the binoculars became obscured by the moisture that he took them away from his eyes and angrily rubbed at the glass.

"Great. Just what we don't need," Reid grumbled as he used his shirt to dry the lenses. Putting them back up to his brown eyes, he resumed examining the compound people from the section he'd stopped at. Concentrating very hard, to ignore the rain starting to dribble down his back, Reid almost missed the sound of a twig snapping off to his left.

In response, Reid froze. His eyes were not seeing the images in the lenses any more. Instead, all of his attention had been shifted to his sense of hearing. Another twig snapped just a little closer. Slowly, the young genius turned in the direction of the sound. Automatically his hand strayed toward his right side where his gun usually sat. He froze again. He hadn't armed himself. It hadn't really been a consideration because he hadn't intended to go out in the field.

As he stood still, Reid saw a man step out of the bushes. His first impression was that the man was startled to see him. Fear washed over the man's face, followed shortly by suspicion. "Who are you?" the man asked. Anxiously, he shifted a coil of rope from his right shoulder to his left.

"Aaaah," Reid said as he turned toward the man, his crutch on his left side. He'd dropped the right one to manage the glasses better. Now he regretted that decision.

OOOOO

Hotch was getting wet. Under normal circumstances he wouldn't care much. At the moment, though, it was beginning to drive him a little batty. He'd been in a warm, safe place. Now, he felt drops of water hitting him on the head, the ear, the hands. The water was cold, especially against his exposed skin. A shiver wracked his body.

"Take it easy," Dave murmured as he tried to shift the older man into a more comfortable position. Wishful thinking. At the bottom of the well, there was no other position. Ignoring his own aches and pains, Dave wrapped his arms around Hotch and tried to protect him from the stray rain drops that were finding their way down the well. It amazed him, in a distracted sort of way that the precipitation would manage to fall all the way from the sky into the bottom of the well. The odds against a successful journey that far seemed astronomical or was it extremely low, he couldn't decide.

"How long have we been down here?" Hotch asked, his voice quiet. The shivering was continuing. He was having trouble thinking straight. Hotch knew he was in trouble, they both were. Somehow they had to find a way out of the well.

"Less than a day. Beyond that I'm not sure," Dave responded as he looked up at the dark spot high above them. The sky brightened briefly as lightning flashed over head. As hard as Dave strained his ears, he didn't hear the resulting thunder.

"How long has it been raining?" Hotch asked. Intuitively he knew that he had to stay awake. The easiest way to do that was to talk. Unfortunately, he didn't really have much to talk about at the moment. The weather seemed to be as good a topic as any.

"Not long. I think it's getting stronger though," Dave replied. "Are you hungry?"

"No," Hotch stated. If they were going to get out of here, Dave was going to have to do most of the work. The logical thing to do was to let him have the food. At this point, it didn't matter if Hotch became a little weaker. He wasn't going to be of much help anyway.

"Come on, you've got to be hungry. I don't imagine Mary or Doug were much into feeding you guys," Dave stated. When he felt Hotch stiffen at the mention of the two names, he immediately regretted saying them aloud. It didn't really surprise him, though. Jared was still having nightmares about that damned woman. There were nights when Dave dreamed about what he'd do to Mary if he ever got the chance. Those were good nights.

"I'm not hungry," Hotch grated. Sensations and memories flooded his mind. The pain, humiliation and shame were almost beyond belief. It created a lump in his throat that made it hard to breathe. In reaction to what he was seeing, Hotch tried to pull away from Dave. He didn't want to be touched by anyone, even him.

"I don't believe that," Dave said. He'd felt Hotch trying to move away from him but there was nowhere to go. Releasing his hold on the man, Dave lifted his hands up in a not so effective attempt to keep the rain off the older man. With all his injuries, the last thing he needed was to come down with exposure.

Ignoring what Hotch had said, Dave pulled the bag with the sandwiches out of the mud that was building up beside him. As much as he could, he wiped the mud off his hand before opening the bag and pulling the contents out. He placed one of the sandwiches in Hotch's lax hand. The dim light from above made the older man's pale skin nearly fluoresce in the darkness.

"I'm not hungry," Hotch muttered. They were the only words that he was capable of through the waves of emotions and images.

"Well, you'd better eat it. Otherwise it's going to just get wet," Dave countered as he slowly took a bite of the too moist bread in his hand. Now that he'd become aware of the mud, he realized that the ground under his butt and legs were beginning to get cold and wet. How could that be?

Unable to argue with the man, Hotch mechanically put the food in his mouth and bite a mouthful off. Just as mechanically he chewed it. The effort it took to break the bread and meat up enough to swallow it without choking was stunning. By the time Hotch had done that, the rest of his meal was sitting on his lap he didn't have the strength to keep the hand up.

"Done?" Dave asked as he tried to see beyond Hotch's head. It was a waste of time. All he could really make out were the white hands grasping a less white square with a bite out of it. It deeply concerned him that the FBI agent didn't seem to have the strength to eat anymore than that. He fought the sudden need to pull the man closer to him, to protect him from everything. Given Hotch's recent need to put space between them, he didn't think he'd appreciate a bear hug.

Now that he'd taken a bite, Hotch's stomach had been reawakened. A loud growl was the only response. Deflated, Hotch leaned a little harder against Dave. As much as it killed him to admit it, the other man's body heat was feeling pretty good. As if to emphasis the point, three rain drops feel at once, striking the back of Hotch's neck and sliding down his spine. The shivers changed to tremors.

Silently, Dave took the sandwich from Hotch's hand. The man didn't try to stop him. Ripping a small portion off the corner, Dave put it against Hotch's lips. For a moment, he thought the older man was going to allow his pride to get in the way. Then, slowly, regretfully, Hotch opened his mouth and lethargically chewed. Apparently he knew the nutrition more than he'd anticipated. Swallowing, Hotch waited to see if Dave would offer more. The last thing he was willing to do was to open his mouth like a baby bird. That would be too much pride to part with.

"I think the rain's starting to puddle down here," Dave stated as he repeated the process. The third mouthful took even longer to chew. This was really scaring him. For the first time, Dave realized that they just might die down here. Where the hell was Jared? He wondered as he looked up at the little piece of sky. The only response was a rain drop in the middle of his forehead followed by five more. "I think we might be in a little bit of trouble here."

Hotch could feel the fabric of the pants covering his lower calves getting wet. The water wasn't just coming from above. It was coming from below as well. Dave gave him another piece of sandwich. Mindlessly, Hotch felt the moisture travelled inexorably up his legs. "I think you might be right," Hotch managed between chewing. Hotch wasn't sure how much he really cared. If any of his team saw him like this, he didn't think he could live with the knowledge. He'd always been strong, maybe too strong at times. It killed him to be this weak and dependant. Swallowing, Hotch felt the last of his self worth disappearing with the food.


	30. Chapter 30

_Okay. I have to take a poll. While I was writing this chapter another angle to the story came to mind when I wrote the word 'scavengers'. It would probably require another completely new story because this one is getting pretty long. It would probably be Reid centric and would include lots of angst from Hotch, etc. Unless, of course, you don't think I've tortured Hotch enough, then he'd been a big part of this one too. Yes, I enjoy whumping on poor Hotch and Reid a little too much. ;)_

_What do you think? Should I pursue this new idea? I am getting close to the end of this story, which is why it's coming so hard and fast of late. Do you want me to make a trilogy of it? Let me know. If people are interested, I'll certainly write it!_

_Susanne_

CHAPTER THIRTY

"My name's Thomas," the man stated as he carefully studied Reid. Instinctively he knew that the thin young man in front of him was a federal agent. There was no other reason for someone this ill looking, wearing that fancy of clothes to be standing in the forest like this especially during a thunderstorm like they were currently experiencing. The fact that he was holding a pair of binoculars and a cell phone also screamed agent. "What are you doing here?"

"Aaah," Reid stalled again. Absently, he pushed his soaking wet hair behind his right ear to get it out of his eyes. He'd seen the appraising look the other man had given him. He knew Thomas recognized him for what he was. What he wasn't sure of was what he was going to do about it. Casually so as to not draw attention to what he was doing, he keyed the mike to his radio. If he was going to be injured or killed, he wanted the others to know about it. Lightning flashed above their heads, followed shortly by a rolling peal of thunder. "I'm bird watching."

"Yeah, and I'm Santa Claus," Thomas said. He felt water trickling down the back of his neck. When he'd headed out he hadn't planned for rain and was under dressed, just like the young man in front of him. At least Thomas wasn't sick so it wasn't affecting him as quickly. As he watched, a shiver passed through the thin man's body.

Frantically, Thomas ran through the possibilities. He could ignore the man and continue on to the compound. The only flaw with that lack of action was that he'd feel obligated to tell Michael that they were about to be attacked. Being the suspicious person he was Michael would want to know how he knew that and why he'd been in the forest. Thomas wasn't sure he wanted to answer that last question. He'd disobeyed Michael infrequently during his time in the compound. Part of his job as the doctor was that he got to see first-hand the consequences of disobeying Michael. He liked his body just the way it was, not open wounds or broken bones.

The second option was to take the unarmed, ill man into the compound and still have to explain why he was out in the forest. Michael might be forgiving, seeing how Thomas's disobedience gave them advanced warning of the attack but forgiveness wasn't one of Michael's strong suites. Taking another close look at the lanky young man, Thomas noticed that he appeared to be in almost as bad of shape as their latest friend had been. Was it possible that there was a connection between them? That was another question Thomas wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer to.

The third option was to just throw the young man down the well with the other two. Michael had left them there to die so Thomas didn't think he'd ever bother to check to see if there were two or three bodies within its confines. However, the very thought of allowing Dave and Aaron to die, much less the young man straining to remain upright in front of him, caused Thomas's stomach to flip flop. He'd trained as a medic so he could save lives, not end them.

"What am I going to do with you?" Thomas asked out loud as he continued to watch the man. Then he glanced down at his hand and the rope. An idea came to him.

"I'm a federal agent," Reid said as Thomas advanced on him, the rope coming off his shoulder. Spencer knew he couldn't out run the man even if his leg would bear his weight, which it wouldn't. The shivering had begun to sap what little strength he'd had. "You will be interfering in a federal investigation if you hamper me in any way." Well, it sounded good. Now if only he could stop looking like a drowned puppy. It might help with the authoritative picture he was trying to project.

"Well, I wouldn't want that, would I?" Thomas responded. Lashing out with the coil of rope, he struck the slowly moving Spencer in the forehead. It didn't take much of a hit and Reid staggered to the ground, stunned. Before he had a chance to react, he felt Thomas pulling at him, moving him away from where he lay in the wet grass and dirt.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Thomas tried to reassure the lax man in his arms. No, he wasn't going to be responsible for permanently injuring the man, but he wasn't going to let him cause any problems in the compound either. Hauling Reid, unceremoniously to the nearest large tree trunk, Thomas propped him up against it and tied him securely. The last thing he did was to pull a cloth out of his pocket and shove it into the agent's mouth. He wasn't going to take the chance that he would call to his friends. "With any luck, your friends will find you before the scavengers do."

OOOOO

They'd finally managed to get all of the Chief's people and as many FBI agents as were in the area organized into their groups and in position around the compound. It had felt like a Herculean task but had only taken about half an hour. There were spotters out all around the compound. Morgan had hated to make it seem like he didn't trust Reid to do the job but there was too much riding on this, too many lives. There was no way in hell he was going to let this turn into another Waco.

The BAU members were gathered at the impromptu command center, going over the plan one more time before splitting up into their different groups. Morgan had wanted a member in each group to ID Hotch if he was found but there weren't enough of them to go around. That was until Sheriff Hicks showed up. He'd been monitoring the police bands and had rallied his own men as well. Now they had more than enough people with first-hand knowledge of Agent Hotchner.

For the first time, Morgan began to think that they just might be able to pull this off when he heard the radio in his ear crackle. Then he heard an unfamiliar voice followed by Reid's. The kid was in trouble. Damn it. Looking around at the other law enforcement officers bustling around the command center, getting ready to raid the compound, he knew he couldn't pull enough of them to send a team up to Reid. There was just too much riding on this one.

"Did you hear that?" Rossi asked. He'd come up beside Morgan. He'd seen the other man's body stiffen as the audio played out and also seen him looking around. The thoughts going through the other man's head were transparent. Could he risk Hotch to save Reid, again? "We need to send someone up there to check on him."

"I know," Morgan growled. Searching through the faces, his eyes finally came to rest on Sherriff Hicks and a couple of his men. He thought he recognized the dark haired, younger one as Deputy Cullen. That was going to have to do. "Sherriff Hicks, I need to send you and Deputy Cullen on a little side trip."

"Sure, anything you need," Hicks said as he came up. Deputy Callen trailed behind his superior. He'd heard his name said and wanted to be close.

"We left Dr. Reid up on a hill side, here," Morgan said as he pointed to location out on the map laid out on the table. They had a gazebo type tent set up to keep the water off the paper. Above his head he could hear the rain drops increasing in size and frequency. "He was injured and we didn't want to bring him all the way down here. He's been found by someone. I want you to go make sure he's okay."

"I could take another deputy with me," Callen suggested. He'd only returned to work yesterday. He knew all too well what the ordeal with Mary and Doug was capable of doing to a person. He wasn't sure he was ready to share all the information about what had happened to them with the rest of his colleagues but Hicks was needed here.

"No, I want you two to go. Just in case there's trouble," Morgan said. He wanted to go himself but he couldn't. Not while Hotch was still out there, in trouble and alone. All he could do for Reid was to send help and hope it was enough.

"Where do you want us to take him once we find him?" Hicks asked. He could see the agent's concern that he was trying so hard to hide. He too had the automatic need to send one of his deputies with Callen but was willing to bend to the other man's orders.

"Anywhere you can. Just keep him safe," Morgan stated. Without another word, the two men headed out in the direction of the hill side. Hicks was grateful that they were both all ready prepped for the raid. They hadn't had to waste any time picking stuff up. They were wearing department issued slickers over top of their jackets, department issue boots and their hats helped to protect their heads. Overall, they were in pretty good shape as they stepped through the wet grass. The sooner they found Dr. Reid, the sooner they could help with the raid.

OOOOO

The water was getting deeper the longer it rained. The thunder continued to crash over head. Dave figured the storm had to be getting awfully close for them to hear the rumbling sound all the way in the hole. Somehow that didn't make him feel any better.

Absently, Dave shifted Hotch a little bit. It helped with keeping his limbs from falling asleep. Unfortunately, the older man had passed into unconsciousness a few minutes back. Nothing he'd tried to do, including sprinkling water in his face, had brought the man around. Apparently he was down for the count. Dave just hoped it didn't mean he wasn't going to wake up. Bonelessly, Hotch's head swayed. It was unnerving to watch.

Unsure of what else to do, Dave wrapped his arms around Hotch's torso and pulled him as close as he could. What little body heat he could do without he was willing to share especially if it meant the older man survived this. He just hoped they both would. Hotch was alternating between emitting large amounts of heat to shivering like a leaf in a stiff breeze. To add to his concerns the water was all ready two inches deep and rising.


	31. Chapter 31

_Thank you very much for your input. I loved hearing from you. I'm so glad that you're all enjoying this story as much as I am. I sometimes wonder about myself. ;)_

_I've decided to continue with the third instalment. It will include Reid and Hotch (yes, I enjoy beating on them just a little too much to let them go yet). The main reason I'm writing it is because it's bouncing around in my head and won't let me alone. I was going to write another chapter to this story but this seems like the most logical place to end it. You'll understand why once you get to the end, I hope._

_Thank you again to all of you who took the time to review! It absolutely makes my day and keeps me motivated to keep going._

_Susanne_

CHAPTER THIRTY ONE

Even in the downpour it was easier finding Reid than the two police officers had anticipated. Within twenty minutes they`d located the young profiler sitting miserably against the tree. He made a rather pathetic picture. Reid was sitting with his knees drawn up to his chest, trying to keep some modicum of heat in his body. His head was resting on his knees for exactly the same reason but his too long, wet hair was hanging down, soaking into his clothes.

"What the hell happened to you?" Sheriff Hicks said as he knelt down in front of the FBI agent. Slowly, Reid's head came up and he blinked his brown eyes at the officer while he tried to get them to focus again. Somehow it made absolutely no sense to him that Sheriff Hicks would be kneeling there. Then he felt someone getting ready to cut the rope behind him.

"No," Reid cried. "Don't cut it!" All the time he'd been sitting there, tied to the tree, something had been eating at him. As Cullen went to cut it, it all clicked into place.

"Why?" Hicks asked, beginning to think the young man had had enough and completely lost his mind. It was a strong possibility after everything he'd been through.

"Thomas, the man who did this to me, was walking through the woods with this length of rope over his shoulder. He wasn't hunting because he had no weapons. He wasn't rock climbing or anything else that would require rope, he wasn't dressed for it. I think he needed it for some other purpose, like keeping someone under control. I think Hotch and Dave are up in these woods somewhere." The words tumbled out of Reid's mouth so fast it took Hicks and Cullen a moment or two to process it all.

"Okay," Deputy Cullen said as he finished untying Reid's restraints, without cutting the rope. "Where did he come from?"

"Over there," Reid said as he struggled to get up. It didn't help that he was using one of his hands to point the deputy in the right direction. Casually, Sheriff Hicks stood up and pulled Reid to his feet with him. Once Reid reached an upright position, he immediately began to sway. Without thinking twice about it, Hicks slid an arm around Reid's back and pulled him slightly against his side. The last thing he was going to let happen was for the kid to fall.

"There're tracks here," Cullen called out. He'd had to pull out his flashlight to light the area. The storm was making it prematurely dark. The lightning flashes were becoming less frequent, which didn't help much either. "He came from there."

"We should get you someplace safe," Hicks said as he looked down at the thin young man at his side. "That's what Agent Morgan told us to do."

"That will take too long. These signs are washing away as we speak. I'll keep up," Reid said, trying to assure the older man. He was trying desperately to stop shivering but it was hard. His clothes were soaked through and his wet hair didn't help much.

"He's right, sir," Cullen stated. Taking his back pack off his shoulder, the deputy opened it up and pulled a blanket and extra rain slicker out of it. The kid's teeth had begun chattering now that he was warming up a little bit. Cullen didn't want to take a chance of him getting any worse than he all ready was.

"Fine," Hicks grated. He stepped away from Reid long enough for his subordinate to wrap him up in the blanket and put the slicker over top. "Let's get going."

OOOOO

"How long was I out?" Hotch said. He voice was weak and hard to hear but Dave made it out anyway. There wasn't a whole lot of noise in the bottom of the well.

"Honestly? I'm not sure. The storm is making it hard to tell time by the sun," Dave quipped. He was practically weak at the knees with relief that the agent had woken up. For a while there, he wasn't sure Aaron ever would again.

"Hmmm," was the only sound Hotch was now capable of. Unconsciously, he burrowed a little closer to Dave. He was in the cold part of the cycle and the other man's body heat felt too good to ignore, in a few minutes he'd be back to sweating like a pig. Slowly, Hotch became aware of the water lapping against the bottoms of his thighs. In his cold state, he hadn't noticed that his lower legs were all ready submerged.

"Yeah, we're getting a little wet," Dave stated. "Do you think the well will fill up enough for us to float to the top?"

"Highly improbable," Hotch breathed as he looked side-long at the man he was sitting on. The last thing either of them needed was for Dave to lose his mind. Hotch wasn't sure for a moment if it was a possibility. Then he saw Dave smile in the dim light.

"Well, we can always hope," Dave responded.

Not sure of what else to do, Hotch looked up at the hole. Lightning flashed as rain drops fell on the senior agent's face. Despair tried to swallow him whole. How were they going to get out of this? Aaron knew he didn't have the strength to stand, much less climb. Just as he lost the will to fight the darkness, Hotch saw a head appear at the top of the hole. Then a flashlight beam panned down to them and blinded him.

"Holly shit!" a vaguely familiar voice floated down to his ears. Startled, Dave nearly stood up as he cranked his neck enough to look up as well.

"Hello?" Dave called out. At this point it didn't matter who was up there, so long as it was someone who was willing to help.

"Agent Hotchner?" the voice called out. "Are you okay?"

Unsure how to respond, Hotch looked at Dave. "He's pretty sick!" Dave called. "But I'm okay."

"Good. We have a length of rope. The hole isn't big enough to pull two people at a time out. Tie Agent Hotchner to the rope and we'll pull him out. Then we'll send it back down to you," Deputy Cullen called as he began feeding the rope down.

"Okay," Dave called up and then he turned his attention to the man in his lap. "Are you up for this?"

"I'm not staying down here," Hotch breathed. "Neither are you so we better be."

OOOOO

It had been pure luck that they had found the well at all. Deputy Cullen had followed the tracks for half a mile before they were completely obliterated by the rain. From that point, he'd begun a grid search, starting in the general direction the trail had been leading.

Reid's insistence on not cutting the rope suddenly made sense and was a godsend as Cullen fed the line down the hole. They'd settled Reid down in the grass under a large tree a short distance away and then fed the rope around a tree and graced it with Sheriff Hicks. Pulling two men, especially if they were unable to help wasn't going to be a lot of fun. There was no way that either of them would be able to do it alone.

"Is the rope going to be long enough?" Sheriff Hicks asked as he watched his deputy work. Young Deputy Cullen had worked very hard to come back to work as quickly as he could. He hated inactivity, especially when he heard that Agent Hotchner was still missing. He felt responsible for the two men's continued suffering because he hadn't found help fast enough.

"I sure hope so," Cullen called back. He'd had to put the flashlight down and so wasn't sure how much farther he had to go. It wasn't until he felt a tug on the other end that he knew he'd reached the bottom. "Yeah, I think we're good."

OOOOO

Amid much struggling and grunting, Dave managed to get Agent Hotchner tied to the bottom of the rope. He didn't dare tie it around the man's torso because of his injury and so had gotten a bit fancier and created leg loops.

"Are you going to be able to hold on all the way up?" Dave asked as he reassured himself that Hotch was as secure as he was likely to get him. He wished it had been possible for both of them to go up at the same time. It would make him feel much better.

"I'll meet you at the top," Hotch croaked. All his concentration was on holding on for dear life. If he let go it would result in him hanging upside down or simply getting wedged within the well. He was hoping to maintain as much of his dignity as he had left. With many misgivings, Dave reached above the barely standing man and pulled on the rope with two quick tugs.

"You bet," Dave responded as he felt Hotch begin to rise out of the hole. Quickly, the bounty hunter beat back the relief that was trying to take away his energy. They weren't out of this yet and until they were, he needed to stay sharp. For all he knew Hotch was going to come tumbling down on top of his head.

Slowly, almost too slowly, the agent was towed up to the top of the well. He was holding on to the rope so tightly that he wasn't able to keep his body off the walls of the well. What were a few new bruises at this point?

The hole above his head gradually became bigger as Hotch got closer to the top. The air at the bottom of the well had begun to get stale but with everything else that was going on he hadn't really noticed. Hotch did notice the scent of rain waiffing down into the hole. Taking a deep breath, he felt some strength return to his limbs. Then he was being unceremoniously hauled over the edge of the well and dumped on the ground.

Lying on his back, Hotch stared up at the cloud darkened sky, feeling the rain fall on his face. A tall, thin person tottered over to him while another person quickly untied the ropes around his legs. Hotch had to blink to get the rain out of his eyes so he could see the figure kneeling down beside him. Relief and joy flowed through his battered body as he found Reid looking down at him with similar emotions raging in his dark eyes.

"I was beginning to think you were dead," Reid admitted as he tried to block the rain out of his Unit Chief's face. Somewhere during their travels, he'd lost contact with Morgan and the others. Otherwise, he would have contacted them immediately to let them know. At the moment, though, he had the feeling they were a little busy. At a distance, he could hear gunfire rolling up the hillside toward them. The raid on the compound had begun.

"Me too," Hotch responded as his throat tried to close up. One thing Hotch had always been able to pride himself on was his ability to control his emotions. It was invaluable during cases and out in the field. Right now, he was incapable of it. Tears forced their way into his eyes and began to roll down the sides of his face. Reid was alive and reasonably well. Nothing else mattered.

Deputy Cullen had fed the line back down the hole and was now pulling Dave up with the help of Sheriff Hicks. The soil on the edges of the well was becoming saturated with the continued rain. As they pulled on the rope, it was starting to bite into the earth, making pulling it up that much harder.

"You're okay," Reid said as he oh, so carefully lifted Hotch up and situated his own body underneath him. Under his own trembling arms, Reid felt his boss shaking but he wasn't sure if it was from relief, cold or emotion. He didn't really care though, Hotch was here and he was alive. Hotch had lost a great deal of weight and the marks on his face were only now beginning to fade. Tears sprang to Reid's eyes as he looked down at his boss. They'd been through so much together. Now they were going to have to go through the rest of it but they would be together. That was all that mattered.

"Thanks," Dave said as he finally reached the top of the well. "What took you so long?"

"We were busy debating whether we wanted to save you or not," Deputy Cullen stated, a slow smile spreading across his face to match the one on Dave's face. The young bounty hunter had sprawled on the ground behind Reid. Now that they had them out of the hole, what were they going to do with them? Hicks wondered as he watched them. Obviously the three of them were going to need help, despite Dave's bravado. There were only two of them. That was going to make things a little bit tricky.

"Well, I'm glad you came for Agent Hotchner," Dave responded, the grin still there. It was so damned good to be out of the hole. Everything else from here on out was gravy.

THE END

_Not really, it will be continued in the third instalment of this story. I never intended it to go on this long but that's where the muse took me. Please look for the next story under the title 'The Scavengers'._


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